Almost Lover
by katherineismikaelson
Summary: Lana Rivers wanted a new start. Mystic Falls was as far away as she could get. But when she rus into a blue eyed vampire who has a certain memory, the craziness follows her. And then she meets Klaus and old feelings begin to arise, as well with Damon. And yet Lana has a bad case of amnesia. K/OC/D
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my new story. It's a Damon and Klaus story. I'm just so in love with both of them and I can't get over 'em. So here ya go. And it's rated M for future smut scenes, but I'll mark it where the smut is just in case you'll want to skip it. Here's Almost Lover.**

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**2011, Phoenix**

Mystic Falls, Virginia. That was my destination. It was as far away as I wanted it to be. My parents weren't too keen on the idea of me living with my aunt there, but I was happy to leave the town that ruined my life. There were just so many demons I had in Phoenix. I needed to get away as fast as I could. Of course I was afraid that I wouldn't make friends or be seen as the new girl. I was scared of it all, but I just needed to get through one year. Then I'd be in college.

My parents tried to convince me to stay in Phoenix for one more year, but I denied. I was seen as the girl in the news there. In Mystic Falls, I'd have a clean slate. There'd be no whispers behind my back or any dirty stares. I'd just be a normal girl that was new in town. Hopefully I'd make new friends and have a normal life, something I hadn't had in so long. Maybe I was being selfish in my decision, but after everything I had gone through, I deserved to be selfish.

It was the last weekend I'd be there. Cara was throwing a party for me; a Goodbye party. I was grateful for it too because I could have never said goodbye to my friends all on my own. While some people thought it would be better to say goodbye, I'd rather just not say anything at all. Then it's easier to cope that you might not see them again. Goodbye is like saying you'll never see them again. Just like with my sister. She said goodbye and we still hadn't heard from her. Goodbyes were just way too hard for me.

It was my party date, but I wasn't ready. I was holed up in my room deciding if I should just sneak out the window and get a Cold Stone around the corner. But they had cake, gifts, balloons; the whole lot. I knew it was wrong to just leave them down there.

I stared at my phone like was supposed to ring. Like my sister was supposed to call and say that she changed her mind and wants to come home. Maybe her return could keep me in Phoenix… Or maybe it would drive me away even more. Either way, I just wanted to hear her voice before I made my appearance. _Come on… _I thought to the phone. _Even just a text? Even a one worded text: 'Hey.'_

But before I could even hear the nonexistent buzz of my phone, Cara peaked her head in the door and then invited herself in. She looked all pretty with her hair up in a bun, her make up done to perfection and her party dress making her look like a model. Cara had porcelain skin, high cheek bones and blonde hair. She was my absolute best friend who I could never replace after I left. She understood me in ways I didn't even understand me. She knew the stuff I would do even before I would do it. Cara was the one who predicted my leave.

Even though it was my Goodbye party, she still had a smile on her face. "Everyone's waiting for the guest of honor. Why isn't she down there?"

I sighed and smiled sadly. "She's waiting for her guest of honor to call her," I replied, putting the phone down. Cara rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm to pull me up from my bed. "I just thought that she'd at least send some kind of message…"

"You know if she knew that you were leaving that she'd call," Cara reassured me. We walked out my room, leaving my phone behind. As we walked down the stairs, Cara added, "She's probably doing some guy right now."

"I really didn't need to hear that," I chuckled.

"I know. I'm just trying to make you smile." She stopped me at the end of the stairs before we walked into the living room, where the party was being held. I stood in front of her quietly as she inspected my outfit. I was wearing white T-shirt and a black blazer on top with black and white striped shorts. The shoes Cara picked out for me were black pumps with lace flowers. I was pretty good with my outfit, but I wasn't known to have the best fashion sense. Cara was. "I'm actually kind of liking it," she approved, nodding her head and I sighed in relief. I didn't realize I was holding in my breath until I let it out. "I'm really loving those pumps, though. You're giving me those as a departing gift."

"Aren't you supposed to give me gifts?"

"Free country," was Cara's smart reply. "Plus, you're leaving me in this town. I hate and love you. Those pumps are mine after this party."

I decided not to argue with her and just put on a smile. She linked her arm around mine. "I think I'm ready."

"Good. Because with all the people I invited, you better be," she said, making me worry a bit.

We already started walking in the room as I asked, "What do you mean by—"

But I was cut off by the sound of many people yelling my name. I suddenly felt confetti hit my face along with a few arms wrapping around my body. I was surprised so many people showed up to my party. I knew all of them, but I didn't know them at a personal level. They probably just wanted to show up for support, especially everything that's happened.

I tried wrapping my arms around the people who were hugging me, but the bodies were too wide for me to wrap my arms all the way around. I was basically just standing there as people touched me. I wasn't big on touching. Eventually people pulled away, some congratulating me on moving on with my life while some scolding me for leaving them. But it didn't matter what they had to say because I was still leaving. I just smiled and nodded every time I heard someone say they hated me for leaving.

Most of the party was a blur. All I remembered was walking in, greeting everyone, getting cake and then opening presents. Some people would have thought it was a birthday party if they were new in town seeing my house. I almost mistook it as a birthday party after all the scolding, prior to seeing the sign the read _Goodbye, Lana! _I was confused why I didn't see it the first time I walked in.

And before I knew it, I was waving goodbye to people as they got in their cars, talking about the new school, and hugging like it was my last day on earth. My stomach was full of cake and my body was tired of being hugged. Cara convinced my parents that she needed to stay over in case I went to my nervous food which was Cold Stone. We both knew that she just wanted to stay with me as long as she could. Cara was back in the living room cleaning up.

The last person to walk out my house was my long time crush Jason Ames. He was the hunk all the girls loved, all the guys wanted to be and the teachers admired. He wasn't rude, he was sweet. He was confident, but not cocky. Jason was the definition of perfect cliché crush and he just happened to have a perfect cliché crush on me. We never actually talked about liking each other, but we did hear the rumors. Jason and I were friends who never actually acknowledged how much we really liked each other. It was sad because Jason was a great guy and I was leaving him behind. I didn't want to get ahead of myself, but he was someone I pictured to have kids with. He was going to be a lawyer, we would have perfect angels. He'd come home from a long day at work to me cooking in the kitchen and the children finding a cure to cancer. We'd eat dinner together, watch a movie, clean up and be off to bed. It'd be the life I'd want, but since my past was in the way, there was no chance of that happening. Yet it was something I still dreamed about.

Anyway, so he was the last one to walk out the door. He stopped, we talked, hugged and he was about to walk out to his car before he turned around. I was ready for him to say something about him being mad at me, but all he did was give me a simple kiss. Not a long one, but a sweet, blissful kiss. The shitty part: I felt no sparks. I was supposed to feel sparks when I kissed my crush. We were supposed to kiss, realize that we were meant for each other, he'd convince me to stay, and we'd get married right out of high school. But that wasn't the case. He cupped his hand around my cheek, the other one on my waist while my hands fell on his chest gently. His lips were on mine for about six seconds, the perfect time. No tongue; just lips. It was meant to be perfect. I guessed he was just a crush.

He apparently felt something judging by the shit-eating grin on his face when he pulled back. His eyes were sparkling, along with his white teeth and his smile reached across his whole face. I tried to smile back shyly, letting my acting skills come into play. And he bought it.

"I wanted to do that for a long time," he said to me. "I just hate that you're leaving."

"Yeah," I lied, keeping up the façade. "I wish I could stay or that you could come with me."

"Maybe I could," he offered.

_Oh shit! Please don't come with me!_

While on the inside I was panicking, there was a smile still on my face. "I couldn't ask you to do that. I want you to stay here and have a life. I need to just get away with a clean slate."

"I could give you a clean slate here," Jason pressed, almost making me frown. _He needed to take a fucking hint. _"I promise I will let nothing else happen to you. No one will ever hurt you again."

"No," I denied a little firmer, hitting his chest lightly. "I want you to have a life. A good one without me. Jason, just promise me you'll find a girlfriend, get married and move on with your life. You can't just get caught up in a silly high school crush."

His smile faltered a bit as he shook his head. "But it's not a silly high school crush. You are just amazing and beautiful. I don't want to let a girl like you go. I think I might be in love."

My eyes widened. Uh, yeah, fuck no. I wasn't going to do this shit without sparks. As a last resort, I pulled his lips to mine again. But still no sparks. Jason was basically a loss cause in my book. I pulled back just as quickly as I kissed him and sighed. "Jason, that was a goodbye kiss. I'm leaving and I don't want you to leave your perfect life behind. Not for me. Please, just find someone else. You'll be happy without someone like me. Someone who will cause trouble. I think that trouble is in love with me. It just can't stay away," I joked, but he didn't laugh. "Jason, please."

"Only because you want it. I'll stay, but I'm visiting you." _I guess it's good enough. _"Goodbye, Lana Rivers."

"Goodbye, Jason Ames."

* * *

"He just kept holding on to me!" I confessed and Cara laughed even harder. "I didn't know what to do. I couldn't just say that I didn't want to be with him, could I? 'Sorry, but I don't get any sparks when I kiss you. That's a biggie for me. Goodbye,' and then just close the door in his face? That would just be rude."

"Rude, but funny," Cara laughed. "Aw, man. I wish I was there to see that."

"No, you don't. It was embarrassing how he wouldn't stop looking at me with doe eyes. I was worried he'd turn into Jim and start stalking me."

"Eww!" Cara screamed. "Then you'd have two creepers on your ass."

"I know. I just wish that he would have taken the hint and left me the fuck alone. I had to tell him multiple times to stay and he was like 'Oh, but I'd go for you. I'm in love with you.'"

Cara's eyes widened. "He said that?"

"Basically," I confirmed, scooping out of Ben and Jerry's. "He said 'I think I might be in love.' I died. I died and then was resurrected just to listen to more of his lovey-dovey shit. Good lord, I just wanted to die and go to heaven."

"Come on, we both know you would go to hell."

"I'll see you there."

"Bitch."

"Slut."

"Ha! It wasn't my fault that they both showed up to my house," Cara argued, referring to the time her boyfriends (plural, that's right) both went to her house at the same time. (I wasn't really one for cheaters, but she was my best friend. They were both madly in love with Cara and both very sexy. She decided to try the best of both worlds. Sadly, that ended just like Hannah Montana's career. Violently.)

We both laughed at the memory before falling quiet while we ate our Ben and Jerry's. I stared at her with admiration and love. She gave me a weird look back. "Don't tell me you're in love with me?"

"I'm not!" I denied quickly. "I'm just going to miss you."

"Aww…" Cara reached over and hugged me. "I'm going to miss you too, Lanie. Can't you just do homeschooling?"

I whispered back, "I can't. I need to get away with a clean start."

She pulled back just enough for us to look in each other's eyes as she said, "I respect your opinion 100%. But I can't help but feel like you're abandoning me."

"I don't want to leave you. Of all people I want to take with me, I want you to go. You're on the top of my list. I just don't want to steal you away from your life," I lied. The truth was I did want her to come with me, but she'd just be the painful reminder of my past in Phoenix. "And you of all people deserve to have a life. I'm not saying forget about me, but get a new best friend. One who won't be on the 11:00 news at night."

"The best friend I could ever ask for is sitting right in front of me. I'll never be able to replace you or forget you," Cara replied heartfelt. Another tear fell down my cheek, but I didn't notice until she wiped it away. We had another day together, but we were already bringing out the waterworks. "So tonight, with my best friend, I'm going to have a superhero marathon. Tomorrow we're going to watch and criticize Twilight, and then we're watching the all-time best movie in the world: The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Then it's Cold Stone and the park. I've got it all planned out, there's not stopping me."

Cara already hopped off my bed. "Wait, we need to add in some Bradley Cooper; Silver Linings: Playbook."

"Good idea," she agreed. "We're watching it tomorrow after the park. Then we'll have our goodbye ceremony and you'll be off to Virginia. And I'll never get to see you again."

"Oh, stop being so dramatic. Just visit me during breaks."

"Oh yeah."

So we did exactly as planned. I watched superhero movies with Cara which ended at about 9:00 the next morning. The Twilight series and The Perks of Being a Wallflower ended at 5:00pm. We decided to stop at Cold Stone before it closed in between Twilight: Eclipse and Twilight: Breaking Dawn. After we got some coffee to wake our asses up and walked through the park just so I could catch a few people who didn't go to the party. I wasn't exactly fond of walking through the park, since I got pity stares and dirty looks. Children pointed at me while they said to their parents "It's her!" Cara told me to ignore it, but it was hard to ignore something once you know it's there. We finished up at the park earlier than expected, got Silver Linings: Playbook and headed back to my house.

As she put in the DVD, I pulled out my phone finally. I hadn't checked it all day or at night, so I had no idea who texted or called. I texted back a few people, listened to voicemails, but the one person who I really cared about actually called. I was ecstatic. "She called!" I rejoiced loudly, making Cara jump. "She actually called me!"

"Who called you?"

"Zoey!" She didn't get to say anything because I shushed her to listen to Zoey's voicemail. Cara came up beside my ear to listen in.

_"__Hello, sister. I hear that you're moving to Virginia. Congratulations! You finally realized what a bum Phoenix is. Be careful in Mystic Falls. And it's Zoey. Have fun."_

Then she hung up. Her voicemail took literally ten seconds to say. Zoey really didn't give a shit about anyone in her past life, did she? Not even her sister. Cara looked at me like I was about to break out in waterworks, but that wasn't the case. I was angry. Very angry at the half-assed attempt of a voicemail. Zoey was such a bitch. She couldn't even take thirty seconds out of her day to say something meaningful or add an 'I love you,' at the end. No, she just needed to say 'Have fun,' and that would be enough.

Cara began, "Lana…" But I interrupted her.

"Just play the fucking movie."

And eventually the day came when I had to leave. We finished the movie and after was our goodbye ceremony. Cara convinced me it was different from the Goodbye _party _I had just a day ago. The ceremony was exclusively for us. Presents were exchanged, secrets and hugs. It was the longest goodbye, but also the best one I had ever had. And though I still didn't want to do it, I did it for Cara because I knew it would be hard for her to say goodbye to someone who barely remembered her anyway.

The next day came quicker than expected.

"I can't believe you're actually leaving," Cara cried as we walked to the boarding area. While my dad couldn't come to say goodbye, my mom and Cara went through security to say goodbye. When they insisted, my heart broke and I _almost _wanted to stay. I said goodbye to Daddy that morning really early. I promised to call him every day and video chat when I had the chance. The whole time through security, Cara was crying about my departure and Mom and I laughed at her. At least I wasn't going to miss all those tears.

"I know," I agreed. "I'm actually having trouble believing it myself."

She questioned as we all sat down, "I would beg you to stay, but that'd be too much to ask, wouldn't it?"

I smiled sadly and answered, "Yes."

It was my mom's turn to talk. "Lana, are you sure you'll be okay? It's a new town, new school and new people. I can always get a flight right behind you."

"I'll always be your little girl, Mama, but you need to let me go," I replied softly. She returned my sad smile. "I'll talk to whenever I can."

"Promise me, Lana. Promise you'll call, text, FaceTime…" she begged, taking my hands in hers. I nodded slowly. She hugged me again tightly, this time not letting go until they called for boarding. "Oh, god…" she moaned.

"Don't worry," I reassured her, "Aunt Nikki will take care of me, alright? I love you, Mommy."

"Alright. I love you."

I turned to Cara who was still crying her eyes out. "You're still going to see me on the breaks and we are still going to text. All we won't get to do is whisper in each other's ears at night."

She giggled. "Okay, I guess. But I'm definitely visiting. I love you, Lana."

"Love you too, Cara." We hugged for the last time before I got up with my bag on my shoulder and got my ticket out. Slowly I walked over to the ticket booth and gave my ticket to the lady who scanned it. Before I walked onto the plane, I turned around to wave to my best friend and mother. They blew kisses back.

It was the last time I'd see them for a while.

Quickly, I found my seat in the back (open seating) and settled in. I brought out my book An Abundance of Katherines by John Green and started reading. I didn't realize that someone sat next to me until they asked me how good the book was. I looked up from the pages to see a man about in his late twenties, early thirties. He was actually very attractive with green eyes, dirty blonde hair and some stubble. He of course had a wedding band around his ring finger, so I knew it was too good to be true. Not like he'd actually go for me even if I was single.

"It's truly quite good," I answered, looking at the cover of the book instead of his eyes. "There are a few equations I don't understand even though I've read this book so many times, but I'm glad I bought it."

"Really? See, my daughter Dana is obsessed with one of his other books The Fault in Our Stars," he told me, "and I just wanted to get her another one. She'll never admit it, but she loves reading." I nodded like I cared, but all I really wanted to know was about him. Liking another woman's husband wasn't my finest moment, but I was with a fine man.

"Are you heading to Mystic Falls?"

"Yes, actually I am. Are you visiting or…? I haven't seen you around there, and it's a very small town."

I tried to think of what to say without sounding like a total freak. "Um… I kind of had to get away," I finally said. "So I'm going to live with my aunt in Mystic Falls. New year, new town, new school."

"Oh, well, maybe you'll meet Dana. She's my step-daughter. I'm Cary," the man introduced, putting a hand out for me. I took it reluctantly and shook it.

"I'm Lana. Maybe I will see her."

The rest of the plane ride, we occasionally talked about our lives; I didn't reveal too much and neither did he. And I got to finish my book (fast reader) and even start on a new one. The flight was about four and half hours which was excruciating for me because I had a little bit of a problem. I hated sitting or staying still for too long. I liked to get up and move around even though I spent most of my time reading. I would always read for a little, change places and then continue reading.

When we landed, I gathered my things and got ready to finally get off the plane. Cary and I already said our goodbyes by the time we got to baggage claim. I got my shit and went outside to flag down my aunt.

_I'm here, where r u? _I texted.

A few seconds later she texted, _Red Chevy coming your way. I c u!_

I looked up from my phone to see exactly that. A red Chevy driving up. When it stopped, I saw my aunt's face in the window. I opened the back door to throw my luggage in and get in the front seat. We hugged while giggling, but quickly stopped because of a honking horn. We still didn't say anything to each other as she pulled out of the pickup area to start driving towards Mystic Falls.

"Are you excited?"

"I really am. I'm glad to be here with you." I smiled at Aunt Nikki and she smiled back even wider (I didn't know that was possible).

But as she asked her next question, her smile faltered a bit. "Did she call you?"

And sadly, I knew exactly who she was talking about.

"Doesn't matter," I replied hastily. "All that matters is that I'm finally here. And I get to be starting a new life living with my auntie. In Mystic Falls."


	2. Chapter 2

**The first few chapters isn't exactly about Damon or Klaus, but she will meet them. Just a matter of time. So I hope you enjoy!**

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**1890, Mystic Falls**

After I finished cleaning my lady's bed, I checked the rest of the room to see if there was anything else I could do. Happily, I found no flaws and walked out the door. That was the last chore of the day I had to complete. I was finally free to read. I was happy that my master was nice enough to let me read after I finished what I needed to. He didn't believe in making other people slaves, but if he didn't, he would be viewed as a traitor. And he didn't deserve to be seen as one. He was kind hearted just like his daughter.

I walked down the stairs quickly only to find the lady back from her trip. And with someone by her side. I couldn't get a clear look of him, but from the way he stood, he must have been proud. I had seen so many people walk in and out of the manor. I had learned how to read people just by the way they carried themselves.

And by the blush on my lady's cheeks, he was attractive. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for her to say something to me. But she just giggled as the man whispered something into her ear. If she didn't need anything, I was happy just to go off and read. The others were bringing in what I guessed to be the man's luggage and put them on the stairs.

My lady and her man finally stopped laughing among themselves and turned towards me. Instantly when her eyes it my face, I smiled. I finally got to see the attractive man's face. He stood tall, muscular with big arms. He had dark hair and icy blue eyes. No wonder my lady let out so many giggles. I felt a little weak myself. "Oh, Lana. How are you?" she asked nicely, gaining back her composure.

"I'm fine. I finished your room. Did you need anything else?"

"Oh, no, thank you. I'm fine," Lady Kenna said to me. The man cleared his throat as if he wanted a proper introduction. I almost scoffed. I didn't want to know who he was or why he was here.

"Hello," I greeted politely, despite how much I didn't care for introductions. "I'm Lana, Lady Kenna's maid." A proper curtsy followed after my greeting.

He smiled back. "Damon Salvatore."

**2011, Mystic Falls**

"I've missed this house," I announced as I walked in the door. It wasn't the biggest house on the block, but then again, all the houses looked the same. I always loved this house so much because I had a lot of memories in this house. I couldn't remember them, but there was always a part of me that just had pure, unconditional love for this house.

"Really? This tiny thing?"

I laughed before replying, "Yes. I love this house. It's perfect and quaint and amazing."

"I didn't think you'd remember it," she chuckled humourlessly. This smile on my face disappeared.

"I don't. But I still have a deep love for it." Instead of waiting for her to say anything else, I just took my things and walked up the stairs to my new bedroom. There were only three bedrooms in the entire house, but the one I picked seemed the most familiar. It had its own bathroom, so that was the deal breaker. I set down my things and stared at the bedroom.

It was my favorite room out of all the other rooms, not that the rooms were very different. It still had the posters I put up on the walls from before the accident when I visited here. My mom always said that I never went out with Zoey, I just stayed in with family. If I would have went out and been social, I might have known a few people, but I didn't. I stayed in singing, making art, and reading. I was a loner and loners had many posters. In the room I used to have, there were many posters.

The room really was mine for a whole year until I graduated and left for college. Mom always tried to pressure me in looking at colleges, but I never spent the time to do that. I meant for the first day of being in Mystic Falls to look at colleges, but I felt like I wanted to look around the town. Aunt Nikki even had a car for me that I could use to drive around. I moved my suitcase to the bed and threw my bad down before looking back at me in the full length mirror. I was wearing a pair of shorts with a sleeveless orange snake arrow top and red Vans. I touched my necklace; a black cross pendant. My parents didn't know where it came from and neither did I. Before the incident, I never wore anything like it, but I never took it off anyway.

Once I decided that my hair was fine and so was my outfit, I grabbed my blue iPhone with my wallet and walked down the stairs. Aunt Nikki was standing in the kitchen, looking for something in the fridge. "Can I have the keys?"

Nikki laughed. "You're actually going to be social this time?" she asked playfully and I rolled my eyes. "There in the bowl by the door."

"Are you serious? There's a bowl by the door where the keys are? Could you get any more cliché?" I questioned, teasing myself. Nikki pulled her head from the fridge just to stick her tongue out at me. I put my hands up in defense. "I'm just pointing out the obvious."

I walked towards the front door to find a bowl on a table that did in fact have keys. "Which one's the Ford?"

"The single key," she called back. "Speaking of that, I need to get you a house key. By the time you get home, I'll have a house key for you. Now go make some friends."

I rolled my eyes again while taking the keys from the bowl. "Goodbye!"

She called as a warning, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Good! That means I have a lot of lot of choices," I replied prior to opening the door.

"Sass won't get you anywhere."

I closed the door before we could finish the conversation. I just kept walking down the walkway to the blue Ford Focus that was calling my name the second I set foot in Virginia. I got in the car smoothly, sighing at the leather underneath my fingers. "I've wanted to drive you for so long, honey," I said to the car like a crazy person. "And now I finally get to." I put the keys in the ignition and it purred. _Oh, what a beau. This is now my car. No one's taking this baby from me._

I pulled out of the driveway and started driving. I wasn't sure how to get around the town, but when I saw a sigh saying _Mystic Bar and Grill, _I decided it'd be the best spot to meet people. School didn't start for another week or so, therefore I wanted to meet a few people so I walked in the school totally friendless. The parking lot was filled up, but I somehow found a parking space in the back of the lot. Once I got out, there were a few people staring at me, but I had to convince myself it wasn't because of what happened way back in Phoenix.

_It's a small town. They're probably just curious why there's a new girl. It's not because of the news. That wouldn't be shown on the news all the way over here._

I tried to put on a strong face and much to my favor, I succeeded. I walked up to the Mystic Grill with a strong face and my shoulders held back. Even though I wasn't feeling very confident. I was always the kind of girl who kept to herself when she didn't have to be social. I'd rather have my own company than the company of others. I wasn't sure if that meant I was freak or if that was normal for a teen. Cara was more of a social butterfly while I was a stoner loner. (My stoner days were over, though.) But new town, new me. I wanted to reinvent myself, so that meant a new personality while still keeping a few other traits.

Most of the people at the grill were people older than me or younger, I was focusing on seniors. I saw two teenagers, one boy and one girl, who looked like they would be my age. (But I was no way in hell just going to walk up to them and say 'hi.') The girl was very pretty with blonde hair and blue eyes. The boy was attractive himself with black hair and a buff figure. Once they looked over at me, they kept staring. Seeing someone new in town must have been very uncommon for these people.

I left them outside to go in where there was air condition. Phoenix was much hotter than Mystic Falls, but it was still hot here. I was lucky that I didn't sweat the way here. I caught a few people's eyes, but most of them just kept to themselves. At least some people had manners. There was no booth for a hostess to seat me, so I just found a table towards the back to sit at. The menu was neatly sitting on the table, waiting for me to pick it up.

I looked through the menu silently and when I finally found what I wanted, I looked around. In the front of the Grill was a bar serving many people. One of them, a man, kept looking back at me like he was expecting something to happen. Then he pulled out his phone and started talking on it. I tried to ignore the feeling of being watched, but it didn't work out so well. Why would he care about me? I was just a newbie in the town. It's not like he needed to scavenge out new people and tell his boss about them. I couldn't have been the focus of his conversation. Trying to avoid looking at the man, I looked around at other people. They were talking among themselves, laughing, playing pool or dancing on the stage. The whole place gave me a very home-y type of vibe. Mystic Grill seemed like a family type place, despite the bar.

I finally noticed a blonde teen coming over to take my order. He smiled at me as he walked over, making me quickly look down at my menu. My dark skin didn't show a blush, but I could certainly feel a hot sensation over my face. "Hello," the boy greeted when he finally reached my table. I tried to put on a confident smile, but I think it just came out as shy.

"Hey," I replied quietly. I was surprised how nervous my voice sounded. I guessed I just wanted to make a good impression and that made me even more nervous than I was before. And the guy was good looking! I looked over to see his nametag read _Matt._

"You're new in town, right?" he guessed. Matt brought out a notepad.

"Yeah," I answered, trying to sound friendlier. "I came from Phoenix to live with my aunt. First day here."

"Oh, that's cool. I hope you enjoy our little town."

"Well, I've actually been here before, but I don't really remember…" My voice trailed off. He gave me a confused look. Did I really want to tell a stranger what happened to me? I guessed if I wanted to make friends then I needed to open up. "I have amnesia."

"Oh," he said quickly. "I'm sorry…I think."

I smiled at _his _shy behavior. "It's okay, you don't have to apologize. Sometimes it's hard when you don't remember childhood memories, but I can get through it. The name's Lana."

He replied, "Matt. So, what can I get for you?"

I told him what I wanted and then he nodded before walking off to get it. At least I met someone around my age. I just hoped that he wouldn't ditch me at school. Matt seemed like the popular type while I was quiet. Yet he was so nice even when I was letting my awkward side show. Some people stared at us while we talked and kept staring after he walked away.

Realizing I had nothing else to do, I pulled out my phone and texted Cara.

_In Mystic Falls. Everyone's staring._

A few seconds later I got my reply. _Just ignore them. They don't know you, so they can't judge. Just meet someone who isn't an asshole and be friends with them._

_Okay, so how is it without me?_

_Hell. I wish you never left. But I'll be seeing you soon_

_FaceTime, I promised and I will keep it_

My phone buzzed that Cara texted me back, but I didn't look because Matt came over with my meal. He set it down softly and quickly. I smiled at him and said, "Thank you."

"Yeah, no problem." Matt stood next to my table a little longer than needed. I wondered if he needed something but I didn't dare ask. It seemed that he just looked at me for a while before I actually said something.

"Do you want to sit down?" I offered, not knowing what else to say. He smiled and sat down quickly. "So, Matt, are you still in high school?"

"Do I really look that old?" he questioned playfully and I laughed a no. "Oh, good."

"It's just that I'm trying to make friends before school starts. What grade are you in?"

"Senior," he answered.

I sighed in relief. "Good, me too."

We continued talking for a while until Matt's boss yelled at him for not working. (He slipped me his cell number!) We said goodbye after having a laugh, I paid the bill, and walked out. I was happy that I actually made a friend today, but I still wanted to have a few more friends. I found out that Matt was interested in football, so that would make him popular and I wasn't the popular type. Deciding that I didn't want to go home just yet, I walked to the park only across the street. There were only a few people in the park. There was a girl sitting on the park bench alone. She had put her hair in long French braid, wearing a long skirt with a white crop top and a light pink cardigan on top. It was actually a really cute outfit for someone who seemed like me. She was wearing big hipster glasses with her nose in a book. She really did seem like the kind of person I would have hung out with. I was fighting with myself silently whether I should have talked to her or just left her alone. In the end, I decided that I'd do both. I sat on the other side of the bench, bringing out my phone to read on it. If she wanted to talk to me, then she could have, but I was going to be silent and let her read her book. That was until I saw what book she was reading.

"You like the My Sister's a Vampire series too?" I asked. My jaw felt like it dropped to the floor. She looked up with a smile.

"You like it?"

"Yes! It's for ten year olds, but I love it."

"Oh, thank god. I love this series too," she sighed, moving closer to me. "My friend Dana says I'm a loser for reading something at such a low level, but I can't help but love the series. It's interesting, right?"

"Yes, I just absolutely adore the whole series. There's no stopping me from reading it," I agreed. We launched into a conversation about a book series meant for 5th graders, and I realized she loved it just as much as I did. We started talking about ourselves too. I felt like I could tell her anything and she could do the same. It was like the relationship I had with Cara, but it didn't feel as deep.

We had to suddenly stop because of ringing phone. "Hello?" she said, sending me an apologetic look. I looked around and realized that it had fallen dark. I didn't realize how fast the time passed as I was with the girl. Then I recognized that I didn't even know the blonde's name. I waited for her to get off the phone to say something. "Sorry, that was my friend Dana. She's going to this birthday party that Caroline invited her to, and she wants me to meet her there."

I felt my heart drop. I wanted to spend a little more time with her, and yet she had to leave. But I couldn't expect her to stay here with me because she still did have a life. "Oh, you should probably get to that. I'll let you go. My name is Lana, by the way."

"Carly," she replied, putting her hand out for me to shake. "And you should come. You'll probably meet new people there or see some faces that will jog your memory."

"I don't know," I debated, "I can't just invite myself to someone's party. The girl doesn't even know me."

"Caroline won't mind. It'll be fun," Carly coaxed. "I'll be there too, and you can meet Dana." I nodded reluctantly and she cheered. "Great! I'll introduce you to everyone and you can see the birthday girl Elena Gilbert. She's really pretty, you might be a little jealous of her beauty and popularity, but she's really sweet. No need to be intimidated."

I laughed. "Nah, I'm good with myself."

Carly smiled genuinely as she led me to her car. "Great, you have confidence. I was hoping you weren't one of those girls who always doubts themselves because they are just annoying."

"Nope, I'm not one of those girls. I know I'm pretty—"

"—and you are."

"—even if I'm not as pretty as the models in a Victoria's Secret catalog."

"No one is as pretty as them," Carly agreed hopping into her car. I opened the door to the passenger's seat to find a clean car. Cara always had something in her car that stunk or something that moved so we never took her car. At least I knew that Carly knew how to clean something. Cara was always the kind of person who'd rather just deal with the mess rather than clean it up. "They aren't human," she whispered. "I have a theory: scientists were so horny, they made these women that were prettier and skinner than beyond possible. Before they could use the women as their own sex toys, another woman named Victoria found them, bought them and then started a store. Now she forces the scientists to create more of the beautiful models. That's why not every girl gets to be a Victoria's Secret model."

I thought for a minute, trying not to laugh. "I think I agree with your theory. And girls who are almost as pretty as the models are tested, turned into beautiful goddesses, and they never see their families again. They're not human anymore."

Carly laughed as she turned on the car. "I like you."

We continued our conversation as she drove me to the party. When we pulled up, my jaw almost dropped again. It was in a big, old house that could be counted as a castle in my book because I had never seen something so huge. My house was one of the biggest in the neighborhood in Phoenix, but it was nowhere as big as the one that was right in front of me. "I don't know why it's being held in the Salvatore Boarding House, but it is." She looked over at me and smiled. "Big, I know."

"Huge," I breathed. She got out of the car quickly and I followed her pursuit. "How many people live here?"

Carly answered, "Just the Salvatores. But everyone says Elena's here all the time. That's probably why the party's here."

"All I have to say is damn. The Salvatores must have a lot of green."

"Probably from their modeling careers," Carly guessed. I sent her a confusing look. "They are both Adonis." We walked into the house without even knocking. I could hear the party music outside the house, and inside wasn't any better. It felt like my body was vibrating from the loud sound waves. The house was filled with many people with drinks in their hands, dancing against each other and yelling at each other to talk. I had to get closer to Carly's ear to talk to her.

"Oh, well that's just great. Two guys who own a big-ass house which Elena is most at are way out of my league. And here I was hoping I'd be the next owner of this house." She laughed again. "If they're as sexy as you make them sound, they must not be human."

Suddenly the blonde girl from the Grill appeared in front of us. "Who's not human?" she asked, looking like she was genuinely interested. I tried not to jump at the sudden appearance of her, but my heart did skip a hundred fucking beats. Damn, she knew how to scare someone to the point that their _heart _almost shits.

I looked over to Carly who had the same reaction as I did. Carly greeted, "Hi, Caroline." The blonde smiled back. "We were just talking about Adonis. Cool party."

I could tell that Carly wasn't exactly fond of Caroline. She smiled at Caroline warmly, but in her eyes there was hostility. I could tell that Caroline did something to Carly unknowingly or Carly just really didn't like her.

"Oh, well thanks. Get a drink, set a present on the table, if you have one and just party!" She walked away as soon as she came.

"So that was Caroline?" I asked.

Carly grit her teeth. "Yes. I hate that girl with burning passion, but for some reason Dana likes her. Let's just go find Dana." Carly grabbed my hand and led me through the crowd of people, all of whom were dancing drunk against each other. I chuckled silently. If they thought this was bad, then they should have been to a party in Phoenix thrown by Cara. Cara was the party queen. There was no such thing as having a better party than her. When you heard that she was throwing a party, you'd do anything to get invited. Party crashers never made it more than five minutes. Cara's parties were legendary and anyone who wanted to change her reign would never see the light of day again. But of course no one did. They just enjoyed themselves at Cara's party. I guess you could say I was proud of having a best friend who was the Party Queen. This party was too innocent for her taste.

As we walked, Carly suddenly stopped in front a pretty brunette. She was wearing a cute white dress and a pretty necklace. I had to admit, this girl was gorgeous. "Hey, Elena," Carly greeted. _Elena…birthday girl._

"Happy birthday," I wished, catching her attention. Her expression turned from happy to curious. "I'm Lana, new in town."

"Hi," she said back. "I'm Elena and thank you."

Carly started saying, "This is a nice party. Never took you for this kind of person."

Elena smiled. "I'm not really, Caroline threw it. I said small and I guess this is what she considers small. Excuse me." _Okay, sorry for bothering you. We just wanted to wish you a happy birthday, but apparently the thirty seconds we were talking took up too much of your time. Please, just walk away now._

Elena suddenly walked away, leaving us to ourselves. I looked at Carly for answers, but she just shrugged. "Usually she likes to stay and chat."

Carly continued to pull me towards the table with drinks. Then we stopped at another girl drinking alone. She was still dancing, but it seemed as though she wanted to be alone. When we reached her, she screamed a bit and hugged Carly. "You showed up!"

"Yeah, I wasn't planning to," was Carly's reply. I studied her face; thin, pink lips, button nose, and brown wavy hair that got in her face. She was pretty just like her name. "And this is Lana." I smiled at Dana and she looked at me curiously.

"Well, hello. My name is Dana." She put her hand out for me to shake. It seemed like I had shaken many hands that day. "Do you like the party?"

"Yeah, a little innocent though," I said to her, making her frown.

"Innocent?"

"You should have seen the parties back in Phoenix." I told them both of the parties thrown by Cara. They were actually very easy to talk to. I figured that I'd actually have friends by the time school came around. Dana seemed like the popular cheerleader type like Caroline, except she was down to earth and wasn't obsessed with who was in the latest edition of Vogue magazine. And Carly didn't seem like the person she'd hang out with, but they looked like they were absolute best friends.

"So one of the police officers had a panic attack when he heard Cara was having a party?"

I nodded. "He overheard and he had a panic attack. Some of us were laughing when we found out why he panicked and some of us felt a little bad. It didn't matter because the party went on regardless. But seriously, if you want to go to a real party, you just need Cara. She'll take care of it all and you'll have the time of your life."

"I want to meet this girl," Dana concluded after listening. "She seems like my kind of person."

"I think you guys would get along just fine," I agreed. Dana passed me a drink, but I declined nicely before seeing Matt walking my way. I put out my hand to catch his attention but it didn't work. He just turned away as if he saw someone else. Dana was smiling at me creepily when I turned back to face her. Then I looked over to Carly only to see the same facial expression. I wasn't sure what to say to them, especially since they were acting like I just kissed a boy for the first time. Deciding I needed that drink now, I took a sip of whatever was in my cup. It tasted like cheap beer and that was probably what it was. _Why are they acting like this? I was just trying to wave down Matt and they're acting like I just got a new boyfriend._

"Do you like Matt Donovan?" Dana asked. I almost burst out laughing.

I shook my head a little too quickly. "No, I just met him today. Sure, he's cute and nice, but him and me? No."

Dana wasn't convinced, judging by the suspicious smile on her face. She just nodded slowly and said, "Sure…sure."

"I don't have a thing for Matt," I argued, rolling my eyes. "But I do want to dance."

Dana nodded while Carly rolled her eyes. "Go on," she granted, "dance with each other. I'll just be here drinking my ass off."

At that sentence, I wanted to stay with Carly, but before I knew it, Dana grabbed my hand to drag me on the dance floor with crowded people. They song was way playful and upbeat, so that's how she started dancing. Dana made weird faces while making weird motions. I was more used to the sexy songs which you would grind up against people to. But playful was a bit of a change for me, so I copied Dana's moves.

"I love life!" she screamed out. I laughed at her; she didn't know how cruel life could be. But I did the same thing. I yelled out that I loved life even if it was a lie.

* * *

I opened the door as quietly as I could without waking Aunt Nikki up. I hoped that she just assumed I was running late because of gas or something and went to bed. I didn't want her to see me looking like I just crawled out of a ditch. I made sure not to turn on any lights to wake her up, just use my iPhone to illuminate my way up the stairs and into my room. I almost made it all the way until I was caught by the little creak in the stairs. The lights instantly flipped on and I was caught by Aunt Nikki standing in her skimpy shorts and tank top. She had curlers in her hair (she didn't curl her hair) which made me give her a questioning look.

"I thought it would be more dramatic," she said, referring to the curlers. "But this isn't about me, this is about you. And why you were out so late."

Sighing, I explained, "I'm sorry, okay? I met some people, went to a party, _didn't _get drunk and then I went to Carly's house so she could get home safely. Then I had to drop off Dana at her house too because her ride ditched her. It took a very long time because drunken Carly kept insulting people on the way out and I'm just going to say, there were some fights. But in the end we all got home safely. That's the only thing that matters, right?"

"Besides the fact that it's two in the morning! What were you thinking? I don't know if I like this Carly character…"

"No, she's really nice," I denied quickly. "Dana and I just went dancing together, I met this guy, we danced together and then Dana went off with some guy. Anyway, Carly was left alone by the drinks and I guess she had a few too many. It's not her fault. I should have stayed with her to make sure she didn't drink so many."

Nikki just shook her head and argued, "Lana, it wasn't your fault. Not everything that goes wrong is your fault. Carly or whatever made the choice to drink and that was her problem if she got drunk. You can't blame yourself."

"No, but if I stayed with—"

"Carly got drunk. Not you. You wanted to dance and that was fine. She should have found someone to dance with too," Nikki said, crossing her arms. "I want you to make sure this Carly person doesn't influence any bad habits on you, okay?"

I mumbled, "Wouldn't it be the other way around?"

Nikki sighed. She knew I was talking about what happened back home. She took a step forward to put her hands on my shoulders. "What happened in Phoenix stays in Phoenix. And you were in a bad place. It's not your fault."

I rolled my eyes. "But it is. _I _chose to do the drugs. _I _chose to run off with him. _I _chose to stay with him even though everyone warned me he was bad news. It wasn't anyone else's fault but mine. And I guess I shouldn't hang out with her anymore because we wouldn't want my bad habits influencing her, would we?"

I walked in my room directly after and shut the door. I knew that it wasn't her fault what happened to me, but I couldn't help but be angry. Oh, how I hated life. It was cruel and though it was my fault, sometimes things just go to shit.

I put down my shoes on the floor next to my bed and opened my bag. I brought out the things for the bathroom and some clothes to change in. I wanted to take a shower right at that moment, but I didn't want to be disruptive (I couldn't take a shower without singing). I just had to deal with sleeping with the smell of alcohol and sweat on me for the rest of the night…err…morning. I changed clothes, brushed my teeth, and got in the bed. I had an amazing time socializing and dancing, so I was exhausted from the whole day. Dana, Carly and I exchanged phone numbers, so at least I got a few friends plus Matt.

I was doing well for my first day in Mystic Falls. At least I wouldn't be alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**In this chapter you get a little insight on Lana's past modern day, not in 1890. So here you go.**

* * *

**1890, Mystic Falls**

Mr. Salvatore had been staying with us for about a week. He and Lady Kenna were together most of the time. They didn't part except for when Master James wanted to speak to his daughter alone. Mr. Salvatore never talked to me, but there were many looks. He did this thing with his eyes that made me fall more in love with them. Mind you, I wanted to deny any and all attraction towards him, but for some reason I still wanted to know what his lips felt like. I knew that someone like me could never have someone like him, but there was always dreaming. And I did dream about him. Some of them were…naughty, but most were just us talking. I didn't know Mr. Salvatore's personality, but I had a feeling he was philander.

Lady Kenna didn't talk to me much anymore. She'd wish me a good morning before running off with Mr. Salvatore into the garden. And though I didn't see her much, I would always see bite marks. They were never there before Mr. Salvatore came into her life, but he couldn't have been _biting _her. That was absurd! No human would ever bite another human for blood.

When I offered the idea to another maid, she suggested he was a _vampire. _Never. They weren't real. Creatures of the night who fed on women for their blood? There were problems with that: Vampires weren't real, and if Mr. Salvatore was a vampire, how did he walk in the sunlight? Vampires would only come out at night because the sun would burn them. I had learned that from my mother. If Damon Salvatore was a vampire, then I was a queen. Ha! An African queen in Mystic Falls was just like saying Damon Salvatore was a vampire. It wasn't possible.

Though it didn't stop my questions. Was he really a vampire? That would explain why Lady Kenna had marks on her skin. But if he was, how could she ever love a monster like him? She would surely tell her father of the beast in her bed.

It was one day when my questions were answered. That was also the day I'd never see the people I called family again. But I couldn't say I didn't regret fleeing with Damon Salvatore. He was dangerous and trouble but that was the thing that excited me. The only thing I regretted about that day was not stopping him from killing Lady Kenna and her family.

I waited patiently for Lady Kenna and Mr. Salvatore to leave her room so I could clean. The dishes were washed, lunch was finished and I had washed the stairs already. The last thing was to clean Lady Kenna's room. Usually another would be to help her with her dressing, bathing and anything else, but she dismissed me most of the time. I would usually also tend to the guests, Mr. Salvatore, but he seemed to be sharing his room with Lady Kenna, even though Master James had given him his own.

They seemed to be doing something that I'd rather not think about or clean up after, but alas, it was my job. I almost decided on sitting outside their door and waiting for them, but I realized that it wasn't the best idea for me to do that. So I went out to the gardens. It was a nice walk, sun shining on my face, flowers touching my skin and the trees above my head. I just loved nature with absolute passion. It was the thing that always kept me sane throughout the crazy parts in my life. Many things happened to me that would upset most to the point of suicide, but the thing that always brought me back to life was nature. I felt connected to it in some way.

As I was walking, I heard conversation. I assumed it was just Master James speaking to another Lady, but as I listened closer, I realized it was Mr. Salvatore's voice. It wasn't polite to listen in on conversations, but he enchanted me. I followed the voices down the way to find Mr. Salvatore and another woman who wasn't Lady Kenna. I recognized her to be another maid Gemma who was always in the kitchen. She was very close to Mr. Salvatore to the point of their noses touching. He had now lowered his voice to a whisper, close to her ear. She looked like she was enjoying it all, that strumpet. Master James had 'picked' her up from a man who was 'taking advantage' of her services. All of us know she was with him willingly. She liked to be with most of the men that visit. It wasn't like Master James offered her to them, she offered herself.

Gemma was actually a very beautiful girl. She had nice, tan skin, not as tan as mine, but it looked great on her. She had long curly hair that she usually put up in a bun since she was in the kitchen, but with Mr. Salvatore, she had it down. Even though she was in a dress, Gemma had long, strong legs. She was the sight of perfection. She could get any man she wanted when she wanted him. But she was playing with fire if she thought she could get Mr. Salvatore without being punished. And they were right out where anyone could see them. I scolded her silently for thinking she could get what she wanted this time.

I kept quiet as I watched them talk. I was waiting for the right time to say something but I waited too long. Before I even knew what was happening, Mr. Salvatore had looked into her eyes for a short period and then bit into her neck with long fangs. I tried to hold in my gasp by putting my hand over my lips, but there was still a slight sound. Gemma didn't scream, she didn't call for help; she just stood there letting him drink from her.

_Vampire._

I didn't know what I should have done something, but I was frozen in my spot. Damon Salvatore was drinking from Gemma like a vampire. If I didn't get out of the garden, I would have been next. Yet the fear froze me in my spot as I watched Gemma slowly die. After a few seconds, she dropped out of Mr. Salvatore's arms to the ground, dead. He was breathing heavily, fangs out, dark veins under his eyes, blood dripping down from his jaw to his chin and blue eyes replaced by black. His face should have scared me, but I was fine looking at it. I was enchanted once more by Damon Salvatore.

I needed to run. I needed to get away from him before he caught me and killed me too. My fear had been replaced my desperation and I was able to move again. I slowly stepped back, trying to make the smallest amount of sound as I could, but he stopped me. "Lana, I know you're there," his voice rang out, stopping me again. Fear ran cold through my body.

I kept my hand over my mouth to quiet my breathing. I luckily hid behind a wall, so I hoped he wouldn't find me until I found a more secluded hiding. What scared me even more was when he started walking towards my way. He still had his demon face on as he walked to me. "I know where you are. I can hear your beating heart."

Mind you, I wanted to start sobbing and praying, but I refused to let the tears that had welled up in my eyes to fall. If I was going to die, I was going to die with pride. He wasn't going to see that I was scared of him, no matter how much I was. I removed my hand from my mouth, stood up straight and walked into his sight. When he saw me, he smiled.

I didn't know how, but he was in front of me in less than a second. His sudden appearance made me gasp again, but I didn't cower away. He had wiped his mouth of blood, but his demon face was still there. His fangs were still bared and the veins hadn't disappeared. I found myself staring at his eyes, trying to uncover the science to the change of eye color.

"How?" The word had slipped out of my mouth before I could think it through.

"Well, I died. And I woke up like this," he answered vaguely. I really did want to know how, but I didn't dare press on the subject anymore.

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked weakly. I meant for my tone to come out stronger, but the fear got ahold of my voice.

He shook his head, smile turning into a curious smirk. "You are something else. I won't kill you, I want to know you. Then maybe I'll kill you," he replied truthfully. "I just want to know why you're not afraid. Why aren't you running away from me?"

I thought for a second. He wasn't going to kill me? He wanted to…_know me? _For some reason, this angered me even more. "Excuse me, either kill me or let me go. There's no getting to know me then killing me."

He laughed. The philander laughed at me. "Oh, Lana. You are a human I would like to keep around. Too bad you're stuck here." His hand went up to move the little hair that was in my face. I flinched at his touch, still a little afraid of him. Most of my fear had turned into anger, but there was a still panic down under the fury.

"Don't touch me," I snapped, moving away from his hand. He chuckled. "Why did you kill her?"

"I was hungry."

"What about Lady Kenna?"

"I wanted something new to taste," was his simple reply. As I stared at him with hate, he looked back at me with curiosity and something that was close to admiration. "Do you know how good you smell?"

Unwillingly, a tear dropped from my eye. I was going to die. But it wasn't like I had much going for me anyway. I was just going to be a servant most of my life. I guessed I hoped (ignorantly) for something great to happen to me as a maid. Maybe a lord would fall in love with me and I would be taken away from the sad life that I lived. I just didn't want to die yet. Especially not at the hand or _fangs _of a vampire. "Please…" I didn't want to resort to begging, but I realized that I really didn't want to die. I wanted to live on even though I knew it wouldn't be anything better than I was already living.

He shushed me and wiped the falling tear from my cheek. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain of his teeth tearing into my skin. When I didn't feel anything, I opened my eyes to see that he had returned to his human face. Damon's icy blue eyes were back and they were staring into my hazel ones. And again, he captivated me just by looking at me. My dreams returned to my mind. The thought of his kiss returned to my mind.

"Lana…" he whispered, "Kiss me."

I was surprised by his request, especially when his pupils got smaller and then returned to their normal sizes. And though I didn't feel _compelled _to kiss him, I did it anyway. The eagerness of his kiss was too much for me to bear. I had to give in to my desire.

When our lips touched, I could have melted in the spot. Luckily Mr. Salvatore was there to hold me up to continue the kiss. I stood on my toes to deepen the kiss that I so desperately wanted. He lips tasted a bit coppery, but that didn't stop me from continuing the kiss. He finally pulled away after a few seconds. I opened my eyes slowly to see he was doing the same. His expression was hard to read, but if I had to guess, he was hypnotized. It was the same feeling I felt. If I had to describe the exact feeling of his lips, it would be along the lines of sparks and charming.

"Oh, god…" I mumbled when I realized what I had just done. I removed my hand from his cheek (I didn't know when I put it there) and stepped out of his embrace. "What have I done?"

"You kissed the devil." He smirked at me. Anger returned to my features.

"You…you…"

"What?"

"Monster!" I screamed. I stepped back even farther only for him to take another step towards me.

He chuckled humorlessly and his smirk turned sour. "You just kissed this monster, and judging by your reaction, you liked it."

I did like it very much, but I tried to deny it. "No, I could never someone like you." This seemed to anger Mr. Salvatore even more. He used super speed to get right in front of me and hold me close to his face. Once again I gasped at the rapid moment me made.

"What is someone like me?" he asked darkly. His eyes started to change into the demon expression with the dark veins under his black eyes. "What am I?"

I whispered, "A vampire."

"Exactly," he smiled. Mr. Salvatore leaned in closer to my neck, making me whimper. "And thing someone like me drink from girls like you, don't they? Your little friend Gemma was a perfect example."

"Mr. Salvatore, please…" I begged, but I didn't dare move from the position. At this point I had closed my eyes in fear and just let him lean closer to my neck. I was so close to him, I felt his chest rumble with laughter.

"Ssh, Lana. Call me Damon."

"Damon, please…"

I felt a rush of air. When it stopped, I opened my eyes to find myself with Damon right in front of the door that was Lady Kenna's. There were still sounds coming from inside the door and I realized that she wasn't with Mr. Salvatore. If she wasn't with him, then who was…? But I was distracted by the other thought of being inside. Not even a second ago I was outside in the garden with Mr. Salvatore.

"I've told you, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to know you, Lana," he said as he walked closer to the door. "And I will right after I finish something."

He opened the door to Lady Kenna and Master James in bed. His sweaty body was hovering over her naked one. I was disgusted by the sight I was looking at. Master James was the father of Lady Kenna and he had bed her? Both of their heads snapped towards us at the door, looking embarrassed. Master James looked ashamed of what he was doing while Lady Kenna's face was red.

"I didn't see that coming," Mr. Salvatore mumbled quietly. "But that doesn't matter. You're both going to hell."

He sped over to Master James first to rip him off of Lady Kenna and dig into his neck. I screamed out for my master's life, but Mr. Salvatore didn't stop. Master James was yelling too, but soon it was only my and Lady Kenna's screams. Mr. Salvatore dropped him to the ground and then turned his attention to Lady Kenna in the bed. Her expression went from sadness to horror in less than a second. She pulled the duvet up to cover her body and get away from the vampire standing in her bed chambers, but he didn't stop with Master James. Damon Salvatore killed the first friend I had ever made right in her own bed.

I didn't dare run to him and stop him because I knew I couldn't and I didn't want to die myself. She was dead from the start. It was just a matter of time. When Lady Kenna was dead, Mr. Salvatore turned to me with blood dripping from his fangs.

"Let's confess: they deserved it. Fucking each other? Disgusting," he said, wiping his mouth. I felt fury once more.

"You killed them! You killed them!" I shrieked. "They were good people! You sick—"

"Uh-uh, sweetie," Mr. Salvatore interrupted. "Don't ruin your chances."

I knew he was being serious, so I stopped myself from saying anything else. "Why?" I asked, desperation lacing my tone.

"I'm a vampire," he answered simply. He started to get closer to me, and my fear was rising even though he assured me he wasn't going to hurt me. "It's what I do. Now, wait here as I finish off the few left."

He sped away to go kill even more of my family, or the closest people I had in my life. As they screamed, I slowly sank to the floor, tears falling from my eyes like a waterfall. I didn't bother running because I didn't have any more energy left in me and I knew he could just catch me. I leaned on the railing for support and closed my eyes. My life was over, even if I wasn't dead. My friend and master were just murdered in front of me. I was emotionally dead.

Suddenly the screams stopped and I opened my eyes. Damon Salvatore was standing in front of me offering a hand. "Come on, we have to get out before the fire spreads from the kitchen."

As much as I wanted to stay and burn with in the fire, I took his hand.

**2011, Mystic Falls**

Even though I didn't get drunk last night, I still woke up with a headache. As soon as I sat up from my position, I could smell the alcohol on skin. It was disgusting. I got up as soon as I could to run to the bathroom and throw up. Every time I smelt stale alcohol, memories of that night came flooding back and that annoyed me to the point of vomit. I flushed the toilet as soon as I was done emptying my stomach.

Aunt Nikki ran into the bathroom with a concerned look on her face. "Honey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I assured her, getting up from my spot.

She repeated, "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright," I promised as I washed my hands. "I just felt a little sick from the smell of the stale beer and shit."

Nikki didn't look totally convinced, but I was expecting that. "Alright, just call if you need anything. I'll be downstairs making breakfast." I nodded in the mirror at her reflection. She nodded back and walked reluctantly out the bathroom, leaving me only to my thoughts. I stared at my face while and studied the girl staring back at me. Even for her dark skin, she looked pale. Her eyes had sleep still in them, half closed. Her teeth had a bit of yellow on each of them and makeup she didn't get was smeared on her face. And yet she still found a way to look semi-decent.

I got over looking at the girl in the mirror and started washing my face, brushing my teeth and hopped in the shower. It wasn't a long shower because I stood under the water most of the time. It was one of the only showers I had that I didn't sing in. When I got out, I put on my favorite black lacey underwear just because I was feeling like it. A blue, flowing tank top, ripped shorts and knee-high sneakers were my outfit for the day. I went to the bathroom to put on mascara and my contacts, but I ended up putting on my glasses and just put on a little lip gloss.

As I walked down the stairs, I checked my phone for any texts. I got multiple from Cara and I realized that I forgot to FaceTime her last night. "Oh, shit!" I mumbled angrily, dialing her number. When she didn't answer, I realized that it would be really early in the morning for her, so I hung up before it got to voicemail.

Nikki saw my angry expression when I walked into the kitchen and asked, "I know you were just throwing up, but what crawled up your ass and died?"

"I forgot to FaceTime Cara last night," I told her. She sucked in a breath.

She commented, "Aw, man. Cara's going to lose it with you." Nikki put eggs on a plate beside bacon and grits and put it in front of me on the counter. I waited for a fork before I started eating my breakfast.

"I know," I agreed. "She's going to get on a plane here and strangle me. Then she's going to resurrect me just to yell at me about being a bad friend. But I deserve it. I was a bad friend." I bit down on the bacon bitterly.

"Darling, remember when I said some things aren't your fault? Well this time it is."

"I know that especially. I shouldn't have gone to the party. If I didn't I would have talked to her and caught up with her."

"You were only apart for a day. Are you seriously that attached?"

I replied, "Yes. We are very close… And I kind of feel like I betrayed her or something."

"Now that's just going a little overboard. You can talk to her later today, alright?" Nikki compromised. "Then you can explain to her what happen and since Cara's such a party girl, I'm sure she'll understand."

I nodded and kept eating. I heard a buzz from my phone just as I finished up. It was from Dana saying that she wanted me to meet her and Carly at the Grill. Nikki stared at me expectantly, like she knew what I was going to say. "Can I go—?"

"Yes, go meet your friends. I'll clean up here," she agreed bitterly and I cheered.

"Thank you, Aunt Nikki. I promise I'll be back so we can go shopping for school supplies," I vowed, running up the stairs to grab my wallet. When I got back downstairs, Nikki was waiting at the door with the keys. I smiled and went for the keys, but she pulled them back before I could get them. My smile faltered a bit.

"You have to promise no getting drunk or any of that kind of shit, okay?"

"Yes, I promise," I said quickly. "I'll just be meeting friends, that's all." She looked at me with a knowing look and I mirrored it. She finally gave up the keys and I kissed her on the cheek. "Thank ya, Aunt Nikki. I'll be a good girl. Just remember, I was being the party girl you were last night. You said don't do anything I wouldn't do and that's exactly what I did."

"Okay, I guess I'll have to rephrase: Don't do anything I _would_ do."

I frowned. I joked, "Damn, that leaves me no options."

"Just get out," she groaned, pushing my back. I laughed at her reaction as I walked down to the car. I was at the Grill in less than five minutes and walked in the doors. Not many people stared this time, they just looked and then returned to their conversation. I saw Elena talking to a guy quietly. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me, making the guy turn around. When I saw his face, I smiled even wider; he was hot. Then I spotted Carly and Dana in a heated conversation just a few tables over in a booth. I joined them quickly.

"Ah! She's here," Dana rejoiced. I laughed and sat next to her at the booth. Carly gave me a questioning look. "See, she likes me better. She sat next to me and not you. Now, back to the matter at hand: If I asked out Matt Donovan, he would totally say yes. I'm irresistible. Right, Lana? You agree with me? By the way, I love your outfit."

She was talking so fast, I didn't know what to say. I understood everything that she said after thinking it over for a second, but I wasn't so sure about the answers. Dana was drop dead gorgeous, no question about that, but she didn't seem like the kind of girl he'd go for. Yet I just met the guy, so I didn't know what to expect. I decided to play it safe and just let her down easy. "Thank you, and I don't know. Didn't Matt date Elena?"

"Yeah, so?"

"If she was a popular cheerleader just like Caroline, who is also his ex, don't you think he would be over the whole popular girls?"

Dana raised her eyebrow at me. "So are you saying he'd say no to me?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," I concluded, making Carly scream in joy (which caused most people to look over at us). Even though people were staring, Carly didn't mind. I think she was actually happy about the attention.

"I told you, reject! And the new girl agrees with me," she said to Dana before turning to the audience who were watching her. "I told you. I'm right, she's wrong. I big, she's small. I'm smart, she's dumb. Go ahead, your applause is welcome now."

A few people laughed at her, but no one clapped. Not that she was bothered by it or anything. Carly just gave Dana a proud look while Dana put her hand over her face. I smiled nervously at all the pairs of eyes on my face. "Do you always have to make a scene?"

"Ah, come on. Nothing ever goes on in this town, you gotta have a little fun." Carly took a French fry from Dana plate.

"I don't even know why I go out in public with you."

Carly said as she was still chewing, "'Cause you 'luv meh."

Dana just shook her head at her friend. I laughed.

* * *

Dana, Carly, and I had all decided to meet up at Dana's house for a much needed sleepover to talk about everything in private. I was going to spend the day with them, but then I remembered my promise to my aunt. It's not like I really wanted to go shopping for school supplies or clothes, but I hadn't had time to be with Nikki.

I got back in my car after saying goodbye to the girls, and started driving. I remembered most of the conversation was towards Matt Donovan, who looked over a few times. Dana kept sending him goo-goo eyes, and I don't think he took it so well. As a matter of fact, I think he was creeped out. He and Dana probably never had a friendly relationship and then all of a sudden she was giving him _The Eyes. _Carly kept teasing me about liking Matt (I really didn't) and Dana kept saying that if I went after Matt, there would be hell to pay. I honestly had my eyes on a Mr. Tyler Lockwood.

When I arrived home, Aunt Nikki was already getting her things together for shopping. "Oh, good, you showed up this time. Alright, we're going to go school shopping." _Hooray! Note the sarcasm._

We stopped at a few stores outside of Mystic Falls and a few inside. By 4 o'clock, we were done and headed back home. I couldn't believe I would now call my Aunt Nikki's house _home _now. I always just called it Auntie's house, but it was now my home, for the short time being. She somehow convinced me to buy more clothes for the school year even though I did some shopping in Phoenix with Cara. I hadn't even started unpacking the clothes in my suitcase.

"By the way, I told my friend I'd meet her at her house," I called down to Nikki as I put clothes in the closet.

She yelled back, "Did you now? What about Cara?"

"I know, I'm going to talk to her now," I lied. I actually totally forgot about my friend back home. I grabbed my laptop and went to FaceTime. Luckily, she answered after a few rings, but she wasn't exactly happy about it. "Hiya, bestie…"

"You are a certified asshole, you know that?" was all she had to say to me. I looked down at my hands guilty as I nodded. "I had to cancel a date only for my best friend not to answer. He showed up at my door looking all attractive and everything, but I rejected him and told him to go home because I had to talk to my bestie. And she didn't even answer. He was all like, 'That's okay, I'll wait.' So he waited for a long, long time as I tried to call you. No one answered, and eventually we left. I mean, it was a really good date and I'm glad he waited for me, but you still didn't answer. I didn't get to talk to you about all the shit that happened the one day you were gone and you didn't get to tell me what happened. We could talk about it now, but this is your punishment. You don't get to talk to me until another day. How do you like them apples?"

With that, the call ended and I was staring at a blank screen. I couldn't help but laugh at my punishment because it was one only Cara could come up with. I at least had more time to unpack finally and do what I needed to do before I went over to Dana's house.

As I set up my room, I played some music and sang horribly. I was yelled at to stop singing a few times, but that didn't stop me from doing it. I kept singing and singing until Aunt Nikki actually came up the stairs to yell at me. Her expression was very annoyed and irritated, but even after her warning I didn't stop. Sadly my punishment was being tickled and I was an absolute sucker for tickling.

Before I knew it, 8 o'clock had come around the corner and I was off to Dana's house. Her house actually wasn't that far from mine, so I had no trouble walking. Perfectly timed, Carly got out of her car just as I was walking up Dana's walkway. "Well, hiya, stranger," Carly sarcastically greeted, shutting her car door. "How are you doing this fine evening?"

"I'm good, and you?"

"I'm amazing," she replied cheerfully. "Let us go in the house now." I smiled at her cheerful behavior. Instead of knocking, Carly just opened the door and walked in. "Jamie, Cary, Carly's in the house," she yelled before walking up the stairs. As soon as Dana heard yelling, she came out of her room and met us halfway down the stairs.

"They're not here right now," Dana informed us quietly. "They're at their 'date-night.' That asshole better not fuck my mom."

I sensed a little bitterness towards Cary, who I remembered was her step-father. Maybe she just hadn't exactly warmed up to Cary. He was a nice man regardless of what she thought of him. I liked him. I followed them up to her room that resembled mine in a way, but hers was bigger. "Welcome to Hotel California in Virginia."

"I like it," I commented, putting my things down. I went over to sit on her couch. "It's cute."

"Cute?" she questioned. "It's award-winning!"

"Yeah," I nodded. "It's award-winning." Dana nodded at me approvingly while Carly rolled her eyes. She found her seat in a pink beanbag on the floor next to the small TV and Dana sat on her bed. "So are we going to share secrets or what?"

"Yes," Dana confirmed, hopping off the bed before switching off the lights. It wasn't complete darkness because of the moonlight. "But first we're going to talk about vampires."

The subject surprised me. I knew that Dana was one to gossip, but I didn't think she'd believe supernatural rumors such as vampires. It's not like I had a problem with vampires, but the thought of someone sucking blood from my body creeped me out a bit. While I didn't reject the subject, Carly laughed loudly, making Dana frown at her. "Are you serious, _Day_? Vampires? As in Edward Cullen and his little band of pale assholes? Dracula? 'I vont to vuck your vlood!' Vampires? Were you sniffing glue before I came here?"

"Carly, you need to open your imagination." Carly rolled her eyes at Dana. She added, "You're the one who read the Twilight series."

Carly defensively responded, "Because it really was better than the movies. Stephanie Meyer made the dumbass mistake to agree to making it a movie. Some books just need to stay books. And vampires aren't real."

"Some people say there's vampires in Mystic Falls…"

"Here? Seriously?"

"It's true," she answered. "I think the _Salvatores _are vampires."

"Ha! That's rich," Carly joked. I thought for a second of our past conversations. I remembered one of the conversations we had about Damon Salvatore being so perfect he wasn't human, and the Victoria's Secret models too.

"Victoria's Secret!" I claimed and Carly laughed while Dana looked lost. "They're vampires!"

"What are you talking about?"

After I stopped giggling, I finally regained my breath. "Well, Carly and I were talking about how the Victoria's Secret models are so perfect that they can't be human; that scientists invented perfect women to be their sex toys. Then Victoria found out about the women, took them and made them into her models. If they're not human, they have to be vampires! It makes sense; with all their beauty and youthfulness."

Dana looked like she was thinking. "That makes sense," she agreed, making Carly laugh even harder than she already was. "Anyway, I'll give you a little background on the story of vampires. Maybe I can actually talk when chucklehead over here will stop laughing."

Carly just laughed harder at her nickname and took a few minutes to stop. But her trouble with stopping made me start laughing and Dana after that. Let's just say it took roughly ten minutes for Dana to start talking again. I had laughing fits like this with Cara and my other friends back home, but I always felt a little weird around them. I couldn't remember the people I grew up with, so I wasn't totally comfortable. But since I had just met the two girls in front of me and they seemed like sincere people, I felt totally relaxed laughing like the Joker in front of them.

"Okay, alright. Now, back to the story." We all had calmed down and stopped laughing before our assess fell off. "So, back in the 1800's there was this council of the founders who knew about vampires. They didn't know there were vampires in Mystic Falls until someone slipped the word. All the vampires were rounded up and burned in a church. Some say that was why the Battle of Willow Creek happened and some say that it was because of two brothers. Either way, vampires were burned, but now they're back. I think that the Salvatores are vampires because of the registry. I didn't go to the Founders' party but I did have a friend who did and she said that they had signed it. Damon and Stefan Salvatore. Back to the first Founders' party."

"So what does that prove?" I asked doubtfully. "It just means that she lied to you and you were dumb enough to believe it." Carly snickered.

"Whatever. We're moving on to secrets. I'll go first. I masturbated with a hot dog once." Dana's honestly made me scrunch my nose. I wasn't one to masturbate, but if I did, it would never be with a hot dog. Carly laughed at loud at her friend's non-hesitant confession.

Carly nodded her head. "What the fuck? I know you did, I figured. You masturbate with all kinds of foods."

"Oh, yeah, I told you about that time with the broccoli, right?" Dana played along. I was even more disgusted, but that was what friends did. They shared with each other. "Just remember, what is said in this room stays in this room. No, Carly, your turn."

"Okay," she agreed, thinking. "My secret is… I have a thing for Tyler Lockwood," she confessed. Dana looked just as surprised as I did. _I guess Tyler's off my future boyfriends list. _"Don't tell him or you'll never see the light of day again."

I held my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, but you do know he's probably got a thing for Caroline, right?"

Carly's body went rigid. Her face was impassive. I guessed that I hit an emotional spot. I looked over at Dana who looked almost the same. "That bitch…" Carly murmured.

"What?"

She didn't exactly answer my question, but I did get a little insight. "Caroline Forbes is a demon sent from hell to destroy my happiness. Satan just absolutely hates me. He wants me to be miserable." Carly apparently felt very strong feelings for Caroline.

Dana explained further, "Caroline ruined her life. I don't have a problem with her personally, but if she hurt Carly, I hate the bitch too. That's what best friends do: I hate who she hates. You hate who she hates."

I nodded slowly. Cara and I never had that relationship. I liked this girl Danita who Cara just absolutely hated. I was friends with Danita, much to Cara's dismay, and we never fought about it. I didn't realize that I had to have the same hate list that my best friends had. But agreed to hate Caroline just as much as Carly. "What'd Caroline do?"

"She humiliated me in front of the whole school," Carly replied, not bothering to look up at me from her fingers. She was shaking. "I had an older sister. And my dad was horrible to us. I mean seriously horrible. Physically, emotionally. He did things to her that made her feel so bad and then he started doing it to me. Finally someone figured it out and he was taken away. The whole time, my mother knew and she never said anything. My sister and I thought she was clueless about the whole thing because she was such a workaholic but she knew everything. I couldn't stand being with her so I told the police that she knew and they took her away. I don't know on what grounds, but she was just taken away. My sister was so ashamed that she killed herself and that was how I ended up in the foster system. Luckily I met some good people and they took me in.

"When I got here to Mystic Falls, I was popular. So was Caroline, Elena and their friend Bonnie. Caroline, total popularity whore; she thought I was a threat to her crown. I wasn't even as high as she was on the popularity scale, but I guess she thought I was going to be trouble for her in the future. Somehow the bitch found out and she told the whole school. I walked in one day and everyone was giving me dirty looks. Then at lunch, she gave a speech. It was about how much of a dirty whore I was. 'We all know that you fucked your dad,' she said as she stood up on a table, 'We just didn't know you liked it.' She actually said that. I was embarrassed and angry beyond compare.

"I ran from school and I was never on top again. And some people actually believed it. A few weeks later Caroline apologized to me and told the school that she was lying. Bonnie and Elena didn't know that she was going to do that, and I believed them. But I don't like them because they could be friends with someone so evil. Caroline apologized and did many things to make up for her fault, but I've never forgiven her. The bitch can go back to hell and rot for all I care."

At that moment, burning hate for Caroline Forbes was coursing through my body. Carly was such an amazing, wonderful person, it didn't make sense that Caroline was so mean to her. I almost wanted to start yelling how selfish and mean Caroline was, but I decided that I didn't need to make Carly hate her even more than she did already, if that was possible. I agreed that Caroline was evil and that she deserved to rot in hell, but I just couldn't get over what she did. Caroline shared to the whole school Carly's personal secret that wasn't even funny and then she made up another lie about it. Being raped wasn't something to be proud of, but Caroline made her seem like a fucking whore. That bitch…

"It's disgusting," I finally said after a few minutes. "I knew humans were cruel, but that was just fucked up to tell everyone."

"Yeah, I get pity looks even today, and that was seven years ago," Carly scoffed. "And now she wants to take Tyler too? She already had Matt and every other fucking football player. She even got Damon at one point! She is the whore, I swear to God."

"Don't worry," I assured her, "Her shit will catch up to her. And she will rot in hell for what she's done to you and everyone else." I shook my head at the thought.

"Now, over the depressing part, share a secret Lana."

I thought for a second. I knew that if I wanted friends that I needed to reveal my past, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to go into detail just yet. Carly, she seemed like a person who wouldn't share my secret, but Dana seemed a bit like a gossip girl. I wasn't totally sure if I could trust her and not only that, I only just met her yesterday. But if I wanted friends or a good life here, I needed to take chances.

"What I'm about to say is really, really personal and I don't need you to judge me. Please, I'm trusting you…"

"Never going out of this room," Carly promised.

Dana joined in, "I talk a lot, but for best friends, I'd never share their secrets. These lips are sealed."

I sighed before saying, "I've had a rough past. At fourteen I was found in a warehouse next to a man. I was rushed to the hospital for cuts, bruises and a bad case of rape. When I got there, I was told I had amnesia. It explained why I didn't recognize anyone when they came up to me and claimed they were my family. All I remembered was my name Lana and another name Silas. My 'family' said they didn't know anyone by the name of Silas so they assumed that was my rapist's name. Anyway, I returned to 'my' home and I didn't feel home. My sister was so hurt that I didn't remember that she ran off. She said that it was hard on _her. _She didn't even know how I felt. I couldn't remember my family or my friends and it was hard on _her. _The feeling was even worse when I realized I was driving people away in my life.

"So I turned to drugs. I went to Cara's outrageous parties and I started to run with the wrong crowd. And this was all by my sixteenth birthday. And once again I woke up next to the same man who hurt me. But this time, I remember every single second I was with him. It was horrible. I wasn't sent to rehab, which I probably should have been, but after my second encounter with rape, I cleaned myself up. I stopped doing shit like that and I stuck with school and my friends. But everyone kept giving me these pity looks and I couldn't take it. So I've come here looking for a new start and you guys have made it so much easier. Thank you for taking in someone you don't even really know and inviting her into your house. Thank you so much for being a friend to me."

Carly and Dana stared at me for a while, but there was no pity. Just curiosity. It looked like they were thinking for a while before Dana said something that confused me. "Damn, you guys are bonding so well because you something in common. I feel left out."

"You want to be raped?" Carly asked incredulously. I stared at Dana with the same disgusted/muddled expression Carly had.

Dana shook her head quickly. "No, I'm just saying that you guys have something in common and we don't. I feel left out because you guys can relate to each other while I'm over here amazing with a perfect life compared to what you two have gone through."

I turned to Carly and asked, "Is she serious?"

"Sadly, yes." She then turned to Dana. "It's okay. We all kind of have something in common because you're a rape baby."

I was confused at the term 'rape baby,' but it seemed that made Dana brighten up. "Oh, yeah, I forgot. My mama's a rape victim and I'm a rape baby."

"'Rape baby'?"

"Well, the baby of rape," Dana explained. "Mama was raped, she got pregnant and here I am. Basically my father's a jerk-off."

"Join the club," Carly mumbled.

"And my step-dad's an asshole."

"Cary?" I questioned, thinking about it. "He's actually really nice."

Both of them stopped moving. "What now? Please tell me you haven't been fucking him too."

I realized it might have sounded weird that I knew Cary. "No, I met him on the plane over here. We sat next to each other and he talked about you a lot. And by a lot I mean a lot. You and your mother. He talked about how much he liked you guys and how sweet your mom is. I think he likes you. Why don't you like him?"

Dana looked surprised by this news. "Well…"

Carly agreed, "He's actually really cool. I don't know why she doesn't like him."

Dana shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just not the biggest fan when my mom starts dating. I'm afraid she's going to meet another man who'll hurt her. And then she brought Cary home with a ring on her finger and I just kind of freaked out. I don't want him to hurt her the way the asshole I have to call a father did."

"Deep, girl," I commented. She smiled at me.

"Now, let's play a game. It's called Marry, Fuck and Kill. I'll go first so it get it; I'd marry Channing Tatum, fuck Damon Salvatore, and kill Caroline Forbes."

Dana smiled at Carly who gave her two thumbs up and then said, "I'd marry Tyler Lockwood, fuck Tyler Lockwood—"

"—One person, darling."

Carly groaned at the rules. "Fine," she huffed, "Marry Tyler Lockwood, fuck Stefan Salvatore, and kill Caroline Forbes. I want my father to suffer in jail for what he's done to my family. Now your turn, Lana."

I thought of all the people. "First, I want to see this Damon Salvatore. See how inhuman he is."

Dana squealed as she jumped up to get her phone. "I have a photo of him on my phone," she explained.

"Why?" Carly asked.

She replied, "Because I love him, but not as much as Channing. Nah, he's my boo." Once she got to the picture, she held it up to my face. "This is Damon Salvatore, the vampire of Mystic Falls."

I took the phone from her hand to see a buff guy with black hair and icy blue eyes. I smiled at him. He was attractive. He was smirking at someone, not at the camera, in the park holding a black leather jacket. He definitely looked older than a teenager and more attractive than Channing himself. I could definitely go for some Salvatore action.

"I don't have a picture of Stefan because Damon's much more fun to drool over," Dana said as she took her phone back.

Carly argued, "Well judging by Stefan's face, I'm going to have to call bullshit on that one. Stefan's the more attractive brother."

"Carly, you need to upgrade those glasses of yours. Damon is sexier than Stefan will ever be. But I'm not denying how hot Stefan is though." Carly just crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Anyway," I said drawing their attention. "I think I'd go after Damon to marry so I could get some every night, fuck Matt Donovan, only because he's the only other guy I like in this town and kill Jim Foxxe. Sorry Carly, I hate Caroline too, but I really just want to kill Jim for what he's done to me." Carly nodded sympathetically while Dana looked down at her hands awkwardly.

"I understand," Carly approved.

"Now, this is a very important question. It will be the tie breaker; telling me if I can be friends with you or not." Carly and Dana opened their ears to my question.

"Shoot."

"Do you like Bradley Cooper?"


	4. Chapter 4

**In present day for Lana, she'll see a bit of Damon. Thanks to all the favorites and follows. Some reviews would be great too!**

* * *

**1890, Mystic Falls**

Being with Damon was terrifying. It was only a day since he had killed my 'family' and we were staying at a woman's house just a few minutes from the town limits. He did his eye thing to make her invite us in. I remembered that I could have gone in the house without him and he had to stay outside because vampires had to be invited into homes and not just walk in like humans. I would have been safe, but he did the thing that I thought resembled a _compulsion_ of some type. Some kind of mind control. But before he did any of that, he pulled off her bracelet on her right wrist and threw it behind him.

He instructed that I go to the woman's room as he took care of something with her. I didn't want to be his next victim, so I did exactly as told. I swore if I heard any screaming that I would stop him from hurting the woman. The house was small and quaint, but I honestly liked the little cottage. The woman's room was just as small as I expected with the simple bed, dresser and mirror.

I sat down on the bed and strained my ears to listen to Damon and the woman, but I couldn't hear anything. In fact, I suspected he went out of the cottage to talk to her. I decided that if he used his mind control to keep her quiet, I wouldn't hear anything. Getting up from the bed, I started to walk out the bedroom door, but just as I took a step outside the limits of the bedroom, Damon appeared in front of me. I tried not to gasp as the sudden appearance, but I failed myself.

"Damon…" I breathed.

He smirked at the effect he had on me. "We'll be staying here for the time being. Then we'll move on." He gently pushed my shoulders back so I would take a step back into the room. He continued, "The nice woman informed me she had a teenage daughter. There should be some clothes in here somewhere."

As he looked through drawers, I stood next to the doorway, ready to run. After a while of him searching, I asked, "Are you going to kill her?"

He took a moment before replying, "You don't want me to kill her, do you?"

"No."

"Then that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll let her live, she'll just have to forget," he answered. A smile threatened to bloom on my face, but my lips rejected it. "Here we are." Damon stood up from the drawers, holding a dress for me to wear. I looked down to realize that mine was coated in blood.

"Thank you," I said as I reached for the dress.

"She said that you could bathe in the river across the way," he informed me with a smirk. I knew what he was implying, but I didn't want to do any of that. Attractive, he was, but a prick? Yes. I wasn't interested in mad pricks that were murderous and had a sick sense of humor.

"I can go another day without bath," I replied, taking the dress from his hands. Unfortunately, that didn't wipe the smug smirk off his face. All he did was start unbuttoning his dress shirt. I wanted to avert my eyes to the ground, but they kept flickering back to his chest.

He said, "I'm bathing. You could join anytime you'd like." His shirt was completely unbuttoned and out of the corner of my eye I could see his bare chest. I wanted to look at it fully, but I decided against it. Damon didn't need to know that I found him attractive. All the needed to know was that I hated him (even though I really didn't) and that I wasn't going to do anything with him. I really did just want to get away from the vampire, but he wasn't going to let that happen. He was either going to eat me or keep me as company.

He started to walk out the door slowly and once he was out, I changed as quickly as I could. I didn't want Damon seeing any part of me that wasn't covered by cloth. Maybe I was embarrassed about my muscles; they were so big. I liked to run in the morning before everyone woke up so I could stay fit. I'd seen some maids gain fat and it wasn't pretty when they asked the master for a new dress size. Staying fit was one of my number one priorities when it came to being a maid.

I looked in the mirror to check if I was presentable for everyone, and once I approved, I walked out to the kitchen to find the woman cooking. "Do you need help?" I asked softly. Her head snapped towards my direction as soon as she heard the first word. I felt guilty that she was so afraid, even in her own home because Damon was here.

"No, I'm fine," she answered quickly.

"You needn't do this alone," I insisted, taking a step closer. She dropped the carrot she was cutting and took the knife as defense. I realized that she might have seen me as a monster like Damon was. "No, I'm just like you. I'm human."

"How do I know you aren't lying? How do I know you're not just a vampire lying to me?"

She had a valid concern. I could have been lying to her, but I didn't know how to prove it to her. "Are there any tests? I will take each one."

She took a second to think before cutting herself. I sucked in a sharp breath when I saw her bleeding. "Do you need help with that?" The woman stared at me for a second before sighing. I repeated my question.

"There are bindings in the cabinet there," she instructed, setting the knife down and putting pressure on her cut. She must have thought if I were a vampire that I would go after her cut. But as a human I had no interest in sucking anyone's blood. I got the bindings and helped her wrap it up. "Could you finish cutting the carrots?"

"Of course," I accepted. I picked up the knife, washed it off and then finished what she started. The woman went over to the pot on the stove and stirred it with a wooden spoon. "My name is Lana."

"Lynette," she said back. "What are you doing _that? _It could hurt you."

"He killed my master and his daughter. Then took me as some kind of toy for him to play with until he gets bored," I explained softly. For some reason, I understood everything that was going on more as I said it out loud, but I didn't panic. I had to accept that this was happening and not make a big deal out of it. I wanted out, yes, but crying and throwing a fit wouldn't help my case at all. "I'm just an object in his eyes. I want to get away, but I don't want to make him angry."

Lynette stayed quiet. "You could stay with me," she offered quietly. I stopped cutting and turned to look at her. She was staring at me. "I could maybe convince him to let you stay. Since you have nowhere else to stay."

I studied the woman's features for a long time. Her blonde hair was in a bun on her head, her pale skin contained wrinkles, but not many. She stood taller than I was, almost as tall as Damon was, and was deathly skinny. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought she was sick. Consumption wasn't common in Mystic Falls, but we never knew where it would show up next.

After a while, I finally denied, "I could never. I'd rather stay with him than become a burden for you."

She smiled. "You are a good child. After my daughter left me to marry, I have been alone for a while now. I would be happy with someone to keep me company. But of course you would have to do some chores of your own."

"Yes," I agreed. I thought: _What if he does let me stay? Then I can start anew here with Lynette. Lady Kenna was sweet and caring, but I was still her maid. If I am with Lynette, then I'm treated equal to her, no matter the skin color. _"Mind you, I'm not certain that he'll agree to it."

"We'll convince _it,_" she said. We continued the dinner in silence until Damon came back dressed in something else. He was wearing a loose shirt, but he kept the same pants. The shirt fell down so far I could see his chest. Damon didn't bother tying the strings to tighten the shirt so it could fit. He liked it when I saw the upper part of his chest.

"Smells nice," he commented with a smirk. I almost wanted to tell him to bugger off as we cooked, but that would cause some unwanted anger. Lynette and I silently agreed to ask him after dinner. "Lynette, darling, we'll be staying here for the night. I think you might want to get comfortable on the settee. We'll be taking the bed."

I quickly objected, "No. We cannot take her bed."

Damon winked at me. "She'll accept it."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Lynette stopped me. "It's alright, child. I'll let you have the beds."

"There are two?"

"My daughter had one," Lynette answered. "It pulls out. You must move the dresser and mirror and you will find it there."

"Oh, goodie," Damon said sarcastically. A few minutes later, the soup was done. While Lynette and I sat down at the table to enjoy it, Damon stood by the door watching me. I wasn't sure if I liked him watching me eat, but I continued to ignore him. I anxiously finished in less than ten minutes, taking the bowls and washing them.

I was ready to ask Damon the question, but he beat me to it. "Lana, would you like to take a walk with me?"

It was a question that deserved a 'no' but I didn't dare reject his offer. I took the hand he extended and followed him outside the cottage. We walked around the back to where the waterfall was just a few feet in front. He took me all the way to the edge and sat down. I wasn't sure if I wanted to join him just in case he decided he was going to kill me by pushing me into the water. "I won't hurt you, Lana," he repeated just like he read my mind.

Reluctantly, I sat down next to Damon, letting my feet dangle. I was never one to be afraid of heights or water, but the waterfall made me question my fears. Damon lay on his back to look up at the stars.

"Lana, are you scared of me or the waterfall?"

I truthfully answered, "Both."

"It's just a little water," he teased. "Even if you do fall, I'll be there to save you."

"Damon, may I ask you a question?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I stay with Lynette? You killed the only people I knew, and Lynette offered—"

"No."

His answer interrupted my question. At first I was dazed at the conversation, but it quickly turned to anger. "Excuse me?"

"You're coming with me. That's why I killed everyone but you," he enlightened. I scoffed at his shitty answer.

"Damon, I'm human. You can't just drag me everywhere you want to go. I still have needs like food and water. You just live off of blood," I argued quickly. "And you live off of blood! I'm not going to be your blood whore."

He smirked. "You won't have to. Unless you want to…?"

"Disgusting," was my reply and he chuckled. "You are horrible." I got up from my position and started walking away from him. I thought he was lying on the ground, but just as I took a few steps, he was there to stop me from walking any farther. Instead of losing my patience and yelling at him, I softly, yet impassively wished, "Please move, Damon."

He didn't react to my request. "You are now mine. I'm not letting you go. And I'm not going to hurt you."

"I am not yours!" I snapped. "I will never be _yours. _I am not anyone's. Please, let me stay so you can have your vampire fun. I'll only slow you down. Just let me stay with another human. How do I know you won't hurt me?"

He took my face in his hands. "I told you I'm not going to hurt you. You don't have to believe me, but I know that I'm not going to hurt you." I wanted to pull away and scold him for touching me, but I stayed in the position.

"Just leave me alone, please," I begged, losing my confidence. Now I just wanted to walk away. I just needed to get away from Damon Salvatore. "I just want you to leave me alone."

"Tough luck, princess. You are mine."

My self-pity quickly turned back into anger at his sentence. "Damon, I'm not yours. Last time I'm saying it."

His expression changed just as quickly as mine. With a firm tone, Damon responded, "Last time I'm saying this: You are mine. And I'm not letting you go."

I wanted to cry. I wanted to start throwing things at him. I even wanted to offer Lynette as my replacement. Anything to get away from the monster that was standing in front of me. But instead of doing any of it, I kissed him. I really wasn't having the urge to kiss him, but I figured if I buttered him up, then he'd be more willing to negotiate.

He was surprised at first, but he hastily reacted to my kiss. One hand went down to my waist to pull me closer and the other one stayed on my cheek. My hands were on his chest, holding onto his shirt so I didn't react too much. I thought I wouldn't like the kiss especially after his claim of owning me, but I loved it. I wanted so much more of him. Damon bit my lip (I moaned), making me open my mouth so his tongue could slip in. I weakly let his tongue take dominance over mine.

Then his lips moved to my cheek, jaw and neck. I didn't stop him from kissing me. I actually moaned a bunch of times which probably made him feel more motivated to kiss me. I was totally happy with his lips on my skin until I felt his long fangs rub against my skin. Damon was teasing me by dragging his vampire fangs across my neck, along the veins. This set off an alarm in my brain, making me push him back from my neck.

I looked at his vampire eyes and fangs only to be amazed and kiss him again. Lustfully, he kissed me hard, pushing me up against a tree. I found my wrists above my head and his lips were on my neck again. I closed my eyes in pleasure at the thought of him drinking from me. _Wait, what now? I'm pleased that he wants to drink from me?_

"Damon…" I moaned, trying to stop him. He grunted back in response. I felt his hand run up from my waist, touching my stomach, the side of my breasts and then to my neck. "Damon…" I repeated, making him finally look up. "Please don't."

"Nothing you don't want me to do, princess," he answered. He kissed my closed eyelids, then my nose and then my mouth. He dropped my hands from his grip and I let them fall to my side. "You're probably tired." One of his hands was still touching my back; he used it to pull me from the tree and guide me back to the house.

I didn't argue with him; I was too preoccupied with scolding myself. I shouldn't have kissed him. I shouldn't have let myself open to the wonders to Damon Salvatore's lips. When he kissed me, all I wanted was more. I had never felt this way about anyone before so I didn't know what these feelings were. It couldn't be love, could it? It was too early… But it was definitely something strong I felt for Damon. I just hoped I wasn't the only one feeling what I was feeling.

He led me into the house to find Lynette washing the pot that use to contain the soup. Her head quickly turned our way when Damon closed the door. She sent me a worried look while I looked embarrassed. She must have seen or heard what happened out there. Damon took a step in front of me, making her give him a hateful look.

"I don't have the bed sheets on the second bed up," she informed us harshly. "You'll have to set it up yourself."

"No matter," Damon guaranteed. "We're sharing a bed."

Lynette stopped cold. She turned around slowly. "Excuse me?"

"We're sharing." Sure, I had just snogged Damon like it was my job, but I wasn't ready to share a bed with him. That was just too quick even for me. But Lynette, she just looked downright hateful. She didn't want us even touching, but sharing a bed? She was going to have a heart attack.

"No."

Damon raised his eyebrow in amusement. "What did you just say?"

"I'm not letting you share a bed with the girl," Lynette denied. "I just won't have it."

Damon took a step towards her. "And what makes you think you have a choice?"

"This is my property. And I won't allow it," Lynette stated proudly and boldly. I was proud that she was standing up to Damon, but a little worried for her life. And I had a good reason to be.

"Well, now it's mine." Damon sped forward and snapped her neck all before I could do anything. I cried out when I saw her body drop to the floor. I jumped forward to catch her, but Damon caught _me. _I now let the tears fall out of my eyes as Damon and I sank to the floor. I found myself lying in his arms as I stared at her dead body. Her eyes were wide open, watery, but there was no life in her blue eyes. Lynette was truly gone.

Once I processed that _it _killed her, I threw myself away from his embrace. "Don't ever touch me!" I yelled at him. He looked taken back at my sudden outburst.

"Lana—"

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare," I warned harshly. "You can have the bed, I'll take the settee."

I tried to get up and walk to the furniture, but Damon's hand shot out and stopped me. He then spun me around to face him, so close our noses were touching. "You and I are sharing the bed. I want you close so I know you won't run."

"No," I disputed fiercely. "I won't run. Just like you won't hurt me. But I don't want to be near you right now. You killed her. You killed Lady Kenna and Master James. You killed Gemma! You killed them all. You're a monster. I don't want to share a bed with a monster."

"You had no problems sharing your lips with one," he retorted with a smirk. I just scoffed at him and tried to pull my arm out of his grip. It didn't work. I tried again. He was too strong.

"God!" I cursed loudly. "Let me go, Damon! Just let me go!"

"Lana, you're sleeping in the same bed with me," he said, trying to do the mind control, but on me it didn't work. I slapped him for thinking he could use that on me. I didn't slap him hard (but I didn't know because I had never slapped anyone before) yet his head turned to the side. He looked at me curiously.

"How…?" he whispered. Damon then leaned into my neck to sniff. "No vervain," he murmured after he was done.

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you a witch?" he questioned seriously. I stared at him with wide eyes.

"Are you serious? There are witches too?"

"Werewolf?"

"Werewolves too?"

He was now impatient with my answers. He growled lowly, "What are you, Lana?"

"I'm human," I said just as harsh.

"Obviously not," he scoffed. "You have no vervain on you or in your system. What are you?" I couldn't believe he was implying I wasn't human. I was human, I could guarantee it. Damon was just having problems with his vampire-ness and it wasn't my fault.

"I'm human, Damon. I don't know what more you want from me."

He looked impassive. "Fine, I guess we need a witch. In the meantime, you're sharing a bed with me."

Anger returned to me and I looked back at Lynette's body. "I'm not, Damon. Please let me go." Somehow, I kept my tone stable. I didn't yell as much as I wanted to while he dragged me away from the body and into the bedroom. "Damon, let me go."

He easily threw me on the bed and closed the door. "Go to sleep."

"Damon, let me sleep somewhere else. I don't want to –"

"Lana! Just go to sleep," he interrupted harshly. For some reason, this one made me do exactly what he wanted and I lied down. I wasn't in a night gown, but I was definitely going to sleep especially after being yelled at by Damon. He looked like he was troubled by something but I didn't bother asking. I just lied down on my side and tried to fall asleep.

Eventually Damon joined me. He lied there at the end of the bed, not moving or touching me. I didn't know why, but I turned around to face him and I cuddled in his chest. I just saw him murder the only person who offered to take me in. And here I was cuddling up to her murderer. And Damon didn't push me away. In fact, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. I couldn't fall asleep alone but I could in his arms.

**2011, Mystic Falls**

Running. It always helped me think. I guessed it was because I was letting out all my feelings through a physical activity and I was around nature. Being outside always made me feel better. It made me feel better than when I was taking drugs. The breeze on my cheeks, the smell of the trees, the animals; it all made me feel like I was at home.

Mystic Falls especially. It was quiet in the mornings at 7am and very peaceful. The animals were out, the sun was coming up. It was all a very beautiful scene. I realized that I needed to get back to Dana's house before they noticed that I was gone. Turning around, I started back to her house. Late last night, Dana, Carly and I all heard Cary and Jamie come home late. Luckily, we didn't have to hear anything disgusting, but Dana kept scoffing when she heard Cary talk. She really didn't like him.

I discovered that Dana and I had a lot of things in common, Bradley Cooper being one of them. Carly found him overrated and stupid while we could drool over his picture for 24 hours straight. After watching a few of his movies, we started talking books. By the time we decided that it was time to go to bed, it was 2am. I was surprised when I woke up at 6:58am so I could go running. It meant I didn't get a lot of sleep, but my body felt just as rested as I would any other night.

My dream was strange too. I was with a woman and a man, but they were arguing. Then the woman stormed off and the man kept asking me to be on his side. I didn't remember his face, but I could tell he was attractive. When the woman came back, there was blood on her hands and she was very angry.

_"__What did you do?" _the man asked and the woman just smiled.

She said, _"My revenge is just starting."_

And that's when the dream stopped. I woke up, not sweaty or panting, just a feeling of recognition running through my body. I made sure as I got out of the bed that I didn't wake up my town friends. I went to the bathroom to stare at myself and think the dream over. I didn't remember what they looked like or their voices, but I just knew that I had known them. They were in my life at some point and the memory was finally coming back. Maybe I would start remembering my sister and my family. And Cara… Maybe being in Mystic Falls would bring me back my memory.

I arrived back at the house in a few minutes to find Carly and Dana sitting at the counter while a woman who I assumed was Jamie walked around the kitchen getting things. All their attentions turned towards me.

"Hey, guys," I said slowly.

Dana didn't look alarmed, just curious. "Where were you?"

"I just went for a run," I told them. "Hi, I'm Lana."

"Jamie," the woman smiled. "Dana's mom. I was just making some breakfast for us. Cary's still sleeping."

"Oh, okay. I'm going to go wash up." Carly and Dana nodded lazily and returned to their conversation. When I got to Dana's room, I went in my bag to search for something to wear. I decided that I would just take a shower here instead of doing it at home. It was a quick shower, just to wash off the sweat. I didn't bother getting my hair wet because that would mean I would have to actually deal with the tangles and all the curls.

I changed into a cropped black tank putting a dark blue and white striped see-through shirt over it. I found that I packed simple blue denim shorts with black Converse. I kept my glasses on from yesterday and headed downstairs. I sat next to Dana on a stool as I checked my messages. I got one from Aunt Nikki telling me to meet her at the Founders' party.

"There's a Founders' party today?" I questioned out loud.

"Yeah," Jamie answered. "I'm making some food for them. I mean, I'm not a part of the founding families, but this time everyone's invited. So we were planning on going today. Why?"

"My Aunt Nikki just texted me to meet her there," I told her.

"Oh, well then maybe you'd like to help me?" Jamie asked me. "These girls claim they don't cook. You seem like the kind of person who does."

I nodded. I did love to cook all the time with Cara. We'd experiment with recipes, which usually didn't turn out good, and we'd make some food for our parents. Cooking was another way to make me feel happy. So I accepted. "Of course. I love cooking. What are we making?"

"Chili."

So after breakfast, I started the chili with Jamie, who taught me to cook it a different way than I would usually. All while Dana, Carly and I were having a debate about the best Harry Potter book. We were losers and we knew it, but that didn't stop us from bringing up how good the books were. Then Carly started talking about how the movies did the books justice and I had to disagree on a few of them. I honestly found the Harry Potter books and movies interesting, but the movies left out a few things. I knew that they couldn't include everything, but I wished that someone would take the time to look at a book and make a six hour movie copying the book, with the author's consent of course. That would be a movie I'd watch.

After Carly and Dana getting ready, the chili finishing and Cary waking up, we were ready to go to the Founders' party by noon. We all piled into one car, but it wasn't crowded or anything. They owned a big car. Unlike the morning, Mystic Falls was bustling and busy. There were people eating, talking, playing games and just having fun. It was cute how a little town worked. Everyone knew everyone and they all talked and had little gatherings like this one.

"We're going to set up our chili," Jamie informed us as we walked through the park. "Thank you again, Lana."

"No problem," I said before they walked off.

"We're going to get some food," Carly told me. "Dana and I may be skinny, but we can eat. You wanna come with?"

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm good." They shrugged, linked arms and walked over to the food tables. I walked over into shades via tall tree. I was about to look at my phone and text Nikki that I was here, but suddenly there was a man in front of me. I gasped loudly at his hasty appearance. "You scared me," I told him, holding my heart. I looked up to see the face of Damon Salvatore. I suppressed a big-ass grin as he stared down at me.

He was looking at me with…love? I didn't even know the guy personally yet he was staring at me like he _knew _who I was. This was the first time meeting him for me. I knew I couldn't have known him before I lost my memory because I had lived my whole life in Phoenix. Unless he took a surprise vacation to Phoenix and went to my neighborhood, this guy was stalking me. His hand reached up to touch my cheek, making me become even more alarmed. "Lana…" he whispered in awe. _He knows my name? Creeper! Rape! Somebody! Motherfucking rape!_

I replied, "I don't know you." I tried to keep my voice steady and strong, but it came out kind of weak. I had been in a situation like this before it didn't end pretty. Jim (past rapist) wasn't as nearly as strong as Damon looked, so I figured I had no chance against him if he wanted to do something to me. He kept his hand on my cheek though.

"Lana, it's me…Damon…"

"I don't remember you," I responded. My voice was once again strong. "I'm sorry… Did I know you?"

"Know me?" he scoffed. "You were in love with me."

My eyes widened at the thought. I didn't know Damon Salvatore. Sure, he was hot, but he was also delusional. "I'm sorry, I just don't think that's logical. I don't know you personally."

"I saw you die," he said slowly, making my eyes widen. _He saw me what? I didn't die. Lose my memory, yes, but die? He obviously is confused. _"I saw your dead body. I held you. I buried you. You're supposed to be dead."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I repeated, but he didn't stop touching my cheek.

He begged, "Lana, please. We loved each other. We were something. Remember, Lana. I loved you. You loved me. Remember please."

"Damon Salvatore, right? Well, I don't know you. I don't know how you know my name, but…" His eyes just kept begging me. I sighed. "Look, I have amnesia, okay? I might have met you before, but I can't remember it. Please, just stop." I wasn't sure why I told a total stranger (who was creeping me out beyond words) my past or anything about me, but I was. Damon somehow snapped out of his daze and took his hand from my cheek.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "You just look like someone I used to know… Is your name Lana too?"

I didn't know why, but I answered his question. "Yes."

"Impossible," he muttered. "And you say you don't remember?"

"I don't remember anything, I'm sorry."

He looked like he could cry. I had the urge to hug him and tell him it was alright, but then I remembered that he was a stranger. I didn't know anything about Damon so it would be a little weird if I did that. "You should be dead…"

My eyes widened again. "I should be _dead?" _I repeated slowly. He nodded.

"I saw your dead body, and even if you didn't die then, you should surely be dead now," he explained. But I still didn't get what he was talking about. Most people would have called him crazy and ran away, but I believed him. The expression on his face was too real for him to be lying. He honestly believed that I should have been dead. He honestly believed that I looked like the woman he loved. I didn't care if he was crazy or delusional. All I wanted to do was help Damon understand…and understand myself.

"Damon, explain to me," I requested. "Help me understand…"

He opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by another woman behind him. "Damon, a meeting's been called."

We both looked behind him to see a woman with short blonde hair standing in a sheriff's uniform. Damon's confused and dazed look sobered up to a serious one. "I'll be right there, Liz." She nodded at him and then her eyes flickered to me. I knew she wanted to say something to me, but she just walked away slowly. Damon sighed.

"Who was that? What meeting?" I questioned. He still didn't face me; he was looking at the ground. I was tired of not getting answers, so I took his face in my hands and pulled his eyes towards mine. I knew it was a bold gesture, but Damon didn't stray away from my touch. In fact, he leaned into my hand and put his on top of mine.

"She was the only one who made me act like this," he said to no one in particular. "And you look exactly like her."

I shook my head. "Who is 'she'? What are you talking about, Damon?"

He sighed again. "I have to go, but I'll talk to you later. I need to talk to you. Lana, right?"

"Yes."

"I...I'll talk to you," he promised. "Goodbye, _Princess_." Damon then walked away from me, leaving me lonely under the shade of the tree. I stared at him as he walked away and to Liz, the officer. After he disappeared from sight, I broke out of my trance to see a few people staring at me.

He had an effect on me. I still didn't remember Damon even if he was the guy I used to know, but he had some kind of effect on me that no one else did. I just wanted to see more of him. Whether we were just saying hi to each other or if we were touching. I just wanted more of Damon Salvatore.

* * *

I was nervous of meeting him. I already knew that he was going to explain everything to me, but I was still afraid of hearing something bad. I was supposed to be dead was what he said, so I was something he'd never seen before. What if there was something that happened that I couldn't remember that was big? Damon obviously was confused about me, so if he was confused, what would I be?

He had called me this morning. After he left, Carly and Dana kept bothering me about our little touchy-feely meeting. They said that we totally had a connection and that I was going to get Damon as a boyfriend or something. They asked me what we talked about and for the first time, I lied to them and said he was asking me how I got my skin so soft and smooth. I didn't know what to say to them. _"Oh, we were talking about how I look like his dead lover?" _That wasn't an option.

Then he called me this morning (I'm still confused how he got my phone number) asking if I'd meet him at his house. At first I was a little hesitant: his house? Wasn't that moving a little fast even for us? But I didn't question it. I accepted and asked him where his house was. Now I was driving in my little blue car all the way to the Salvatore Boarding House. It was farther than any house in Mystic Falls. No wonder Dana suspected he was a vampire.

When I pulled up to his house, I took a deep breath. What I was about to hear would change my life completely, I knew it. If I wasn't the woman he fell in love with, well then I had a twin running around, falling in love with strangers and then just dying. If I was the woman he fell in love with, then I'd be in serious shit because according to him, I was supposed to be dead.

Slowly, I got out of my car and walked up to his house. It was big and dark, yet I found it very interesting. It looked like something that came right out of the 1800's. Mystic Falls people were big on saving old things, so it might have been saved from the 1800's. I knocked the door quietly and was about to knock again louder, but the door swung open to reveal Damon with a glass in his hand. His face was impassive, but it suddenly changed to affection when he saw me.

"Lana…" he breathed quietly. I smiled.

"Can I come in?" I asked and he nodded, moving out of the way for me. I took a step forward into the house and instantly felt like I knew the place. Not like a feeling of recognition, but something resembling love. I was a sucker for vintage and this was basically my own wet dream (without the naked men of course). "I like it."

"Thank you," he said, closing the door. "This way." I followed him into something that I guessed was a foyer with couches, a fireplace and many books. Wet dream, definitely. Damon stood by the fireplace while I took a seat on the old looking couch.

"So, Damon, tell me what you were talking about? Who do I look like?"

"I would have to start from the beginning, so get ready for a long story. It was 1890; I met a girl. She was fun, she let me drink from her—"

I interrupted him, "Drink from her?"

He smirked deviously. "I'm a vampire."

_The fuck? Haha, Dana's right. He's a vampire._

"Vampires aren't real. Cut the bullshit."

He poured himself another drink. "I'm a vampire and I fell in love with you in 1890. So unless you're a vampire or a witch, then you should be dead. You know, you always resisted my compulsion."

"What is compulsion?"

He took another sip before replying, "Mind control."

"That doesn't make any sense," I denied after a second. "Vampires, witches, or any other supernatural creatures aren't real! They just aren't! I don't know what you're talking about. You can't be a vampire. I couldn't have lived in 1890 because I wasn't born then, okay? I'm not the woman you loved and you're not a vampire."

He was suddenly in front of me and his eyes weren't blue anymore. I gasped at the sight of his monstrous face. But then I was kind of amazed. There were dark veins under his eyes, which were black, and there were long fangs extending from his gums. I knew that no human could ever do that so either he was a vampire, or I was tripping. I found my hand reaching up to touch the veins under his eyes, but all I felt was smooth skin. I thought I could feel them, especially since they were visible. Damon's chuckle was what brought me out of my trance. I quickly retracted my hand.

"You always were fascinated by my face," he commented, going back to his drink. I was still in awe about his face. Was Damon Salvatore really a vampire? If so, then that meant there really were vampires in Mystic Falls. And Dana was right. How many were there?

"Damon—"

"How many vampires? Yeah, there are a few. Caroline Forbes, me, my brother, possibly Katherine Pierce and there were others, but they're not with us anymore," he answered.

I took a second to take in everything. "Damon, tell me everything," I requested. He smirked at me again.

"Wish granted."

Damon told me everything. Everything ranging from doppelgangers to witches to Klaus Mikaelson. But he waited to tell me about our little love story. So since everything was real, there was a possibility that I was with him once…back in 1890. It didn't seem likely to me, but there was still a chance. Yet for some reason, when Damon told me all the stories and myths were true, I wasn't fazed at all by it. I wasn't scared. I was only surprised.

_Elena has serious problems and here I'm moping about my amnesia. Her parents have died along with _real _parents, her aunt, and her brother, but he was brought back to life. Her friends have sacrificed so much for her. Damon has sacrificed so much for her. And the way he talks about her? He's in love with Elena. But what about Stefan? Damon knows that Stefan loves her… He can't do that. And maybe I don't want him to be with her either. It's selfish, I know, Lana, but he says that we were once in love. I guess there's still feelings?_

_There's not any and you know it. You just want to get in Damon's pants._

_Whatever… And is it such a crime? This dude is sexy…_

"Lana…?" Damon questioned, and I snapped my attention back to him.

"Oh, sorry, just processing. So this is all real? And Klaus has Stefan?"

He laughed humorlessly. "Out of all I just told you, you inquire about Stefan. Typical…"

"Okay, sorry," I apologized sarcastically. "I didn't realize you don't give a shit for your brother. Just feeling a little concern. Your brother is running with a psycho vampire and all you want to do is fuck his girlfriend."

"That is not true," he denied.

"It is and you know it," I retorted. "But that's okay. If I were a guy, I'd totally want Elena too." Damon gave me a questioning look. "What can I say? The girl's hot, even through my heterosexual eyes."

"She is beautiful," he agreed.

I scoffed. "Yeah, but you only want her because she looks like Katherine."

"Not true! Why does everyone think that? I'm over Katherine. That bitch screwed me over more times than you can blink. I'm done with the Katherine train."

"And now you're on Elena Express," I joked. "So tell me about us. What happened in 1890?"

He shook his head. "Uh-uh. Not how it works. I told you something, now you tell me something. What's your life story? Why do you have amnesia?"

"My past is very…complicated. Why would I tell you?"

"Because we were once lovers. Lovers share shit like that with each other. Lana, if this is going to work, we need to be honest with each other."

"If what is going to work?" I asked doubtfully. "We aren't anything. We were _past _lovers. Not current ones."

"Lana, please… You know things now. You can't go back and I'll find out eventually." Damon didn't sit down, but he came closer to the couch. Not wanting him to come any closer, I gave in.

"Fine, but my past is hard… There is some mature content. It's rated R."

"I'm over 17," he reminded me. I nodded.

"Okay, fine." So I explained to Damon everything that had happened to me, why I moved to Mystic Falls, and why I had amnesia. The whole time, Damon had a look of hurt and hate. I was guessing hate for Jim who did this to me and hurt for what happened. But I didn't want his pity. I already had pity from Phoenix and everyone else who watched the damn news story.

He stared at me for a long time with these eyes that just made me want to make him happy. I was tired of seeing him stare at me with sad eyes. "Damon, don't do that. Don't give me pity."

"Lana, what happened to you… You didn't deserve that," he said, making me roll my eyes.

"You have no idea how many times I've heard that."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. Now tell me about our epic love story."

Damon's lips smiled but his eyes didn't. They were still sad. "Well, I met a girl who was fun and let me drink from her. Then she took me home and I met her maid. Her maid was a gorgeous girl with a gorgeous name: Lana. One day she spotted me killing one of the other maids and I confronted her. She wasn't afraid of me, but she did want me to leave her alone. I just couldn't though. Even Lana's lady was scared of me at first. But Lana? She stared at me in awe, much like you did. And she was fascinating. So beautiful. And smart. And strong. And wild. And talented. I fell in love with her. I thought I loved Katherine, but the way I loved Lana… It was just something else. She loved me too. She said it to me every night. 'My Damon, I'm in love. I want to stay this way forever,' she'd say. And I'd say something along the lines of loving her too. You don't understand: I never say 'I love you.' It's just too much attachment, but with Lana, I was never embarrassed to say it. And the way she smiled when I did. Oh, god, her smile.

"And then I made the dumbass mistake of leaving her for a few minutes. She got swept up by some bastard, was raped and killed. I held her bloody, dead body in my arms. I cried. I buried her and then I cried more. Eventually after a few weeks, I was tired of the pain and I turned off my emotions. I tried so hard to forget her.

"Now you've come along, looking just like her, my Princess. You have her smile. I thought you were a doppelganger at first, but then I saw your necklace. It's the same one she had."

Instinctively, I looked down at the cross pendant hanging from my neck. I touched with love. "I don't know where I got it. I've just had it and I've never taken it off."

Damon nodded sadly. "And if you're her, then I… I don't know what I'll do."

There was a 9 month pregnant pause before I spoke, "You're obviously in love with Elena, but you still have feelings for her—me. And I'm sorry, but I don't remember you. Damon, you seem like a hoot but I don't know if I can do this. I can't remember my life in the 1800's and I don't know what I am. If you were expecting something from _us, _you have to let that go. I want to have a normal life. I want to get over the drama that happened in Phoenix. I especially don't want to get into any vampire drama. So…"

"You're already in it," Damon accused harshly. I wasn't sure what was the cause of his sudden mood change, but I had a feeling it had to do with my rejection of _us. _It just sounded so weird. I didn't even know Damon and there was an _us. _"You are something we both don't know. So for the sake of the Lana I knew, I'm going to help you find out. And then maybe you could remember what we had. And maybe I could leave Elena, someone I'll never have, and we'll be something again. I loved Lana passionately and since you look exactly like her or are her, then we both owe it to her to find out and help you remember."

I shook my head. "I'm not her! I can't be! I know I don't remember anything, but my family remembers me. I couldn't have been the girl you know. There are baby pictures of me. I'm not Lana, I'm just me."

I stood up to walk out, but Damon's body stopped me. "Please stop doing that."

"You need to remember," he said, grabbing my face in his hands. "I'll make you remember."

"Damon, you can't—" I was cut off by feeling lips on mine. Damon was kissing me. I mustered up as much strength as I could and pushed him off of me. He looked a bit surprised when I didn't kiss him back. "I'm not her," I repeated. "I'm not your _Princess._"

With that, I walked out of his house and to my car.

I wasn't the Lana he knew. Vampires were real and so were witches, but I wasn't Lana. I wasn't alive in 1890. I was only the Lana who woke up next to a man who raped me and then raped again. I was the Lana who had amnesia. I was the Lana who moved to Mystic Falls to escape her past. I wasn't Damon's Lana.


	5. Chapter 5

**1890, Montgomery (Alabama)**

"Damon, thank you for the night," I said as we walked up the stairs to our room. "I can't believe they actually let me in and served me."

"When you're a pretty lady, they'll do anything," was Damon's reply. I laughed and walked into our room. It had been a few weeks since I was with Lynette in her house. Damon was still the monster I saw kill those people, but he was different now. We arrived in Alabama a few days ago and Damon compelled a rich man to let us stay with him.

I got new dresses, went to pubs, and no one questioned it. Anyone who did either died (sadly) or was compelled. And Damon was way better. He was funny and smart. Really caring, actually. I didn't know that something like him could have a heart. We hadn't kissed since the time at Lynette's, but I was sure we shared moments together.

I loved it when he touched me. I loved it when he looked at me. I loved everything, but I had to keep reminding myself he was a monster. Even in my sleep, I loved him. I would dream (naughty) dreams that made me think of what would happen in real life. Damon and I shared a bed, but we never touched. No matter how much I wanted him, I stopped myself. I had to remember that he just wanted to play with his food before he actually ate it. That was what stopped me from kissing him when our noses were touching or when he said something vulgar. And no matter how much I wanted him, I had to stop myself.

When we got in the room, I stood near the bed. Instantly, he took off his shirt. I wasn't sure what he was doing since he never did it usually when we got back from a crazy night. I would go into the other room, start a bath, then he'd go after me. Sleep would come after that.

I couldn't pull my eyes off of his chest. He was very muscular and attractive. _Oh, god, Lana. You're thinking too much. Just look away. _I looked away quickly, but slowly my eyes wondered back to him. He was smirking at me, without a shirt and walked closer.

"Lana, what are you looking at?" he teased. I looked down at my hands in embarrassment. "You know, you really are beautiful. When I first saw you, I said, 'Wow, what a girl.' You're not like the other girls I know, but you are definitely the most beautiful."

"Damon, I won't kiss you," I denied, and he laughed. The closer he got to me, my breaths got shallow. I soon felt his hands on my waist, pulling me close. Once I tilted my head up to see Damon, his lips were instantly on mine. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was long enough to make me want more.

Once he pulled away and looked into my eyes, I knew at that moment: I loved Damon Salvatore.

**2011, Mystic Falls**

I walked down the halls as quietly as I could. I didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to myself from the other seniors and explained I was new and not just a lower classman. I was heading to a classroom so I could superglue someone's desk shut, but I was stopped at the realization that I needed to report to Dana before I did anything. I remembered that she'd be in the gym where everyone else usually was.

Carly said that senior prank night was a stupid tradition that needed to be broken so she refused to come. I tried to beg her to come since I was going to be alone if Dana wasn't with me and I knew no one else, but she said there was a book waiting for her. I sighed and got in the car with Dana to drive away to the school. And then she instantly left me because she said they needed her help even if they were doing fine without her. Dana gave me a few assignments that I had to complete before I would go back to her and report in for another assignment.

I had been thinking of Damon the whole time. His kiss, what he told me, everything that had happened in Mystic Falls. He assumed I was the woman he loved years ago even though I wasn't wrinkly or in a wheelchair. I'd be the world's oldest woman if he was telling the truth. Well, world's oldest _human _woman. The thought of being alive back in the 1800's was just crazy, wasn't it? That couldn't be possible, especially since I still looked like I was 17. And I was born in a hospital just like any other human, so I couldn't be a vampire. Being a witch was out of the question because Damon just said they slowed down their aging, not form a completely new life. There had to be a real explanation for what happened to me, but finding it with Damon was not what I planned on doing. This was my problem so I was going to find the solution myself.

I changed my direction to the gym, where it was pretty loud. I heard yelling and begging. It was all very weird. When I walked in, there was only a few people, Dana being one of them. The scene before me was very weird: Elena, Bonnie, Matt, an older man, and a blonde girl holding Tyler. I noticed that a guy named Chad and Dana were on the floor. All their heads turned towards me.

"Um…" I didn't know what to say, but I knew some shit was about to go down. "Dana…?"

Suddenly the older man was in front of me in less than a second. _Vampire, _I thought. He looked at me the same way Damon looked at me. Did this guy know me? Well if he did know the old Lana, I wished I was her. This guy was attractive with sandy blonde hair, green eyes and pink thin lips. He was all kinds of sexy.

"Lana, you're here," he breathed. _Oh goodie, another lover. Damn, Lana was a whore. _"How are you here?"

"Lana?" the blonde girl asked behind him. I turned my attention to the beautiful curly blonde girl holding Tyler by his arms. She kind of looked like the man standing in front of me. I noticed that they both had British accents, so I assumed that they were related and the infamous Mikaelson siblings. Damon had told me who they were, yet I never got to see them. But there weren't many British people in Mystic Falls, so call it intuition.

"Hi," I said slowly. I turned my attention back to the man. "Are you him?"

"Who, _Angel_?"

I smiled at the nickname. _Angel, huh? I had it good—_Lana _had it good. I'm not her. I'm just me._

_Who are you trying to convince? Them or yourself?_

_Just shut up, Lana._

_You're the boss._

"The big bad hybrid?" I guessed. "Damon told me about you." Klaus's eyes turned stone cold. He grabbed my arm and I was suddenly right next to Elena.

"I'll talk to you in a second, _Angel,_" Klaus said to me, then he turned to Tyler and his sister. Rebekah (guessing) pushed Tyler into Klaus's arms. "I'm going to make this very simple—every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire hybrid, they die in transition. It's quite horrible actually." Klaus bit into his wrist and shoved it into Tyler's mouth. Tyler tried to pull Klaus's hand out of his mouth, but Klaus is too strong. "I need you to save my hybrids, Bonnie. And for Tyler's sake, you better hurry." Klaus then snapped Tyler's neck, letting him fall to the ground dead.

Everyone gasped at the scene and I rushed forward to see if I could save him. But his eyes were closed and he had no pulse. Klaus and Rebekah went to the bleachers to talk privately while we all looked at Tyler's dead body.

"He killed him," Matt stated.

"He's not dead," I interrupted. "Klaus's blood will turn him into a hybrid." They all looked at me surprised. I knew that they were all confused about my knowledge of vampires. "Damon." They still looked a little confused, but they stopped staring. I stood up to stand next to Elena. It's not like we were friends or anything, but I knew that Klaus would probably want to kill her. We barely knew each other, but if I could stop Elena's death, I would.

"And if Bonnie's successful, he'll live through transition. Go on, fetch your grimoire." I then remembered that Bonnie was a witch when I questioned what he said. Klaus walked up to Elena and grabbed her arm. "I'll watch over Elena for safe keeping."

"Klaus," I warned, gaining both the Original's attention. "That's not fair. Let her be with her friends."

He stared at me curiously. "And Lana… You'll stay too." As much as I wanted to say far away from Klaus and his freak sister, I decided that I could keep an eye on Elena. Bonnie took Matt's arm and they both ran from the gym to find something to save Tyler. I just hoped that they did. Carly still had a thing for him and as much as I didn't want for her to date him, I didn't want her to suffer through his death.

"So this is the latest doppelganger?" Rebekah said as she looked at Elena. "The original one was much prettier."

"Enough, Rebekah," Klaus warned.

Rebekah's head turned towards me. She must have known me before judging by the way she looked at me. It was like we were friends or something. Before she could say anything, I asked, "So when did we meet?"

Rebekah smiled. "1664."

I gasped. That was way before I met Damon. "And did I die?"

Rebekah frowned. "Yes." _I'm some kind of freaky resurrecting person because there is no way a human could do that. _I looked down at my hands. "You were my best friend. I had many best friends, but I loved none of them like I loved you. How are you still alive? I was the one to witness your murder. Are you a vampire?" I couldn't answer because Klaus beat me to it.

"No, I can hear your heartbeat."

I tried as hard as I could to look away from their eyes as I spoke, "I'm not a vampire or a witch or a werewolf. I'm something else."

"How would you know?" Rebekah asked softly. I looked up at her and all the other eyes on me.

"Because in 1894, Damon Salvatore witnessed me die too."

The look on their faces was almost hysterical. Both Originals including Elena looked like they had seen a ghost. And maybe they were looking at a ghost. I wasn't sure what I was. At first I was okay with their stares, but then it started to get annoying. I realized I was a freak, but staring was rude.

"Maybe a doppelganger?" Elena offered.

"No, she has the same necklace," Klaus denied. "What are you?" He let go of Elena and walked closer to me. Staring straight into my eyes, Klaus put a hand on my cheek. _This shit again… Don't people understand that I don't liked to be touched? Who wants to be touched by vampires? Especially ones that you don't even remember._

"That's what I'm wondering."

Klaus demanded, "Rebekah, go take the wolf boy somewhere else."

"Nik, she's my friend," she whined back. "I haven't seen her for nearly 400 years."

"Rebekah," Klaus commanded with a more demanding tone. Rebekah groaned and walked over to dead Tyler and dragged him away. Klaus's attention was off me for a second, so I fled over to Dana on the floor with Chad. I didn't say anything, but I sent her a look that asked her if she was okay. She nodded and then I turned to Chad with the same look. He nodded.

Klaus let go of Elena and she rushed over to us. Like she wanted to protect me, she started touching my hair and giving me comforting looks. Weird yes, but comforting? Also yes. Klaus walked over to the bleachers to think or something.

"Do you remember?" Elena asked me.

I shook my head. "I have amnesia. I don't remember anything past the accident." She tilted her head in confusion. "I was raped. They found me next to the man, and I couldn't remember anything." Apparently, my life story was just something I'd say to people when I first met them. _Hi, my name is Lana. I was raped and I have amnesia. Not to mention I was raped again by the same guy. What's your name?_

Elena gave me a look of sorrow and started to say, "Lana, I'm so—"

But it cut her off with, "No need, Elena. I've heard that way too much." I looked over at Klaus who looked like he could strange someone. I figured he heard what I had said and probably wanted to kill the bastard who hurt his _Angel. _I mean, I could deal with having a vampire and a hybrid on my side. I could really use that to my advantage, but then again that went against everything I was taught (after the accident) so that was a big no-no. (My parents sat me down one day after learning I had amnesia and retaught everything they every said to me. I decided that they were right and I had to do everything I could to keep people safe, even if they didn't deserve it.)

"Lana… Do you know about me?"

"That you're the doppelganger? Yeah, I know everything. I can thank Damon for that," I told her. She smiled but I knew she wasn't happy.

"Wait, when did you meet Damon?"

"He came up to me in the park saying that I was his dead girlfriend. Then I went over to the boarding house and he explained everything. I know _everything. _Including Jeremy and Jenna and John. Everything." She looked at me suspiciously. "I'm not lying. Ask Damon when you see him. And I don't know what I am. Damon doesn't either. I guess that I fell for Klaus, he saw me die and then I fell for Damon and he saw me die."

"You and Damon?" she asked. Elena was good at hiding her feelings towards Damon, but at this moment I could see the jealousy in her eyes. Ugh, I didn't even want to know the sexual tension in the room when they were together. Damon and Elena just needed to fuck, and get it over with. If they still were in love with each other when they got the lust factor out of the way, well then hooray. They just seriously needed to sit down and talk about their feelings.

"Yeah, we were together in the 1890's. Had a fun time by the sound of it. And then I guessed I died and he buried me. But here I am right in front of you. Obviously I'm some kind of supernatural creature that beats Klaus. When he dies, he's not coming back, but when I do, I'm re-spawning like a Mine Craft character. Elena, you are staring at the face of awesomeness." I wasn't feeling very funny myself, but I at least got Elena to smile a bit. "We'll be fine. Tyler will be fine."

Elena didn't say anything else, she just nodded. We sat there for a few minutes until we heard someone come in. He had dark hair, a muscular figure and looked a little bit like Damon. Taller yes, but I assumed that it was Damon's brother, Stefan.

_Silas. _The name came back to my mind when I saw his face. Why did he remind me of Silas? Who was Silas? I hadn't thought of that name in years, and now Stefan was the reason why I thought of him? Silas must have been his middle name or something. Or a completely different person. If Elena was a doppelganger, why couldn't Stefan be? What if I was too? _Silas…_

"Stefan…?" Elena confirmed my guess.

Stefan looked at Elena, then me, and then the hybrid on the bleachers. "Klaus…"

"Come to save your damsel, mate?" Klaus joked, but with no humor in his tone. Stefan walked farther in to the gym slowly, not even returning his attention back to Elena. I knew that they were something, so why was he acting so cold?

"I came to ask for your forgiveness. And to pledge my loyalty."

"You already broke that pledge once already," Klaus replied and I scoffed. My little sound got the attention of the class.

"Come on, Klaus. He probably did it for his true love. Give him a break."

"Lana, darling, you're not in this. Bugger off." I crossed my arms, but I stopped talking.

"Elena means nothing to me anymore," Stefan claimed stepping forward. _Well there goes my case! _I looked at Elena who looked a little sad at what Stefan had to say, but she still had a strong expression on. I stood up next to her. "And whatever you ask of me, I will do."

"Fair enough," Klaus agreed. Klaus got up from his spot on the bleachers and walked past Stefan over to us. "Let's drink on it. Kill them." Klaus pointed to Dana and Chad. They quickly got up and backed away from Klaus.

"No!" I denied, but Klaus ignored me.

"What are you waiting for? Kill them."

"No, Stefan don't!" Elena said. "He already said that he wasn't going to hurt me. He—" But Elena was cut off by Klaus's hand connecting with her face. I screamed out for Elena and rushed to her aid. Stefan bared his fangs and ran to Klaus intending on hurting him, but Klaus was fast enough to stop Stefan's attack and hold him by his neck.

"She means nothing to you? Your lies just keep piling up, Stefan."

Stefan gasped for air. "Let her go! Let them both go! You have my word." I was honored that Stefan cared about me too and he didn't even know me. Stefan held onto Klaus's hand, trying to pull it from his neck to get air. I knew what the feeling felt like: feeling like you couldn't breathe. I was choked by Jim when he was finished with me. At first you just can't breathe and you're gasping for air, but then it starts to hurt. You feel like your brain is burning, like a migraine intensified. Then your lungs start to burn as well, and then then your hands. It's all because you aren't getting air to any of your body parts. At the last second, before you fall unconscious, there's this moment of bliss where you can't feel the pain anymore and then you're out. It was a horrible process.

Klaus replied calmly, "Your word doesn't mean much. I lived by your word all summer. During which time I never had to resort to this—stop fighting." They were staring in each other's eyes so intently, I didn't know what was going on. Then I remembered that Klaus was able to compel other vampires. Stefan's face turned to dread.

"Don't do this, don't do this," Stefan mumbled over and over again.

"I don't want to do this," Klaus said. "All I wanted was your allegiance, but now I'm going to have to take it." Stefan was muttering 'no' over again, but Klaus didn't stop.

"Klaus, please," I begged, still holding onto Elena. "Stefan was only trying to protect Elena. Klaus!"

But he ignored me as he compelled, "You will do exactly as I say when I say it. You will not run, you will not hide. You will simply just obey."

Stefan stopped fighting Klaus's hold and stared at him. Klaus finally let him go, and Stefan did nothing. He just stood there trying to figure out what his next move was. I heard Elena muttering 'no' next to me. She was saying what I was thinking. Damon explained to me that Stefan had _Ripper _days. When he started, he couldn't stop. I didn't need to be there at Elena's funeral seeing Jeremy cry when I only just met her. And Stefan loved her so much. When he would wake up from his little daze, all he'll feel is remorse and hate for Klaus.

"Now kill them." Klaus was referring to Chad and Dana. "_Ripper."_

"No!" I screamed, trying to get up, but Elena held me down. "Don't do this, Stefan! They're innocent. Please!"

Stefan didn't stop though. He ran to Dana and started feeding from her neck. As many screams and cries I let out, Stefan didn't let go of her until she dropped dead to the floor. Seeing her dead body made me shut the fuck up. Her eyes were closed, her heart wasn't beating and my friend was dead. The friend I told my secrets to. She was the third friend I had and she was already dead. I fucking hated vampires.

Instead of gasping and staring at Stefan in disbelief like Elena, I just looked at Dana's dead body and a callous feeing washed over my body. I watched as Stefan killed Chad without even flinching. Not even a day knowing Klaus and I hated him. It wasn't Stefan's fault at all because he was compelled. Sure he was the one who actually killed by new bestie, but it was Klaus who made him. Klaus leaned down to talk to us, but I didn't bother listening to him.

Elena and Klaus both stood up and I knew that was my queue to do so too. "Where is it?" a voice yelled, resembling Rebekah. "Where's my necklace?" We all turned around to see Rebekah stomping in the gym with a very angry look. It actually kind of scared me myself.

"What are you talking about?" Klaus asked sounding irritated.

"She has my necklace. Look." Rebekah held a phone up to Klaus's face and he smiled.

"Well, well, more lies."

"Where is it?" Rebekah demanded angrily.

"I don't have it anymore," Elena responded, but that didn't satisfy Rebekah.

She accused, "You're lying!" Rebekah leaped at Elena and dug her fangs in her neck. Klaus pulled her off of Elena, making her fall to the ground. I noticed that Stefan made a move towards Elena so he obviously still had feelings for her. You could turn Stefan into a Ripper, but that didn't mean the feelings didn't stay.

"Knock it off," Klaus demanded.

"Make her tell me where it is, Nik!" Rebekah yelled. Klaus calmly turned around to Elena who was gasping on the floor. I wanted to walk over to Klaus, slap him, and tell him to cut the shit and let us go, but that wasn't going to get a good reaction. He had put Elena through so much pain, now he wanted to take her necklace? He took her boyfriend, took her family and took her freedom. What more did he want? Her fucking virginity? Well, Matt probably already took that! He needed to stop being so fucking selfish. I wasn't sure how I could fall in love with someone so needy! Klaus was definitely not my type.

Quietly, Klaus asked, "Tell me where the necklace is, sweetheart. Be honest."

"I'm being honest, Katherine stole it."

_Of fucking course she did! The girl is always one step ahead of everyone. I'm not one to use people, but she's got a good technique. If I ever go bad, I'm going to her for tips._

"Katerina, of course," Klaus smiled. "Well, that's that. If we had the necklace, it'd make things a whole lot easier for your witch, but since we're doing it the hard way, let's put a clock on it, shall we?" Klaus quickly walked over to the game panel and hit a random button. The number 20 lit up on the board and started counting down. "Twenty minutes. If Bonnie hasn't found a solution by then, I want you to feed again. Only this time, I want you to feed on Elena," Klaus said to Stefan.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I mumbled to myself.

"No one leaves, if she tries to run fracture her spine," Klaus instructed. "Lana, darling, stay with your friend and hope that she won't get killed."

I did exactly that, but I didn't start trying to comfort Elena. I thought of a way to save them. Bonnie needed to find a way to keep Klaus's hybrid alive so I had to think too. I didn't need any magic or anything. The witch was also a human, just with magic powers. All she had to do was think a little harder than usual and come up with something.

I thought of what Damon explained to me how Klaus's werewolf side wasn't supposed to come out. But then he did the ritual and it was completed and he was a vampire and werewolf. Klaus wasn't supposed to become a werewolf. The Original witch didn't want him to become a hybrid… So how was he supposed to create new hybrids? It just didn't make any sense.

I looked up at the clock and it was already down to 15 minutes. I looked at Stefan who was pacing back and forth on the court floor. Elena was holding her hand to her neck to stop the bleeding and she looked just as worried. I kept quiet and went back to my thoughts. If Klaus wasn't even supposed to be a hybrid, then maybe there just wasn't a way to create hybrids. I mean, if there was, then someone would have done it already, right? All they needed to do was get fed vampire blood, die and then feed on a human. Unless there was more to that.

"Stefan," I called, gaining his attention. "When Klaus killed the werewolf with his blood in its system, what happened? The werewolf fed on human blood right?"

Stefan looked like he didn't want to answer my question, but he did. "Yes. He was fed human blood, but then his eyes started bleeding. He went rogue and I had to pull out his heart. Klaus said some of the others just died."

_But that doesn't make sense… What could be stopping them? The doppelganger not dying?_

"Vampires aren't even supposed to be real," I mumbled to myself. I looked at the clock and it was down to five minutes. I didn't realize I was thinking for so long. I heard Elena and Stefan yelling at each other, but I wasn't listening. I was pretty sure it had to do something with Stefan's love for Elena, so I just ignored it. I had to think of a way to save Elena before the timer ran out.

_Vampires aren't supposed to be real! They were created! So that meant the Original witch fucked up. And if vampires aren't supposed to be real, then neither are hybrids! Lana, you're on a roll. So Elena was supposed to die in the sacrifice. She didn't die, so maybe—_

My thoughts were cut off by the beeping of the buzzer and the groaning of Stefan. "You can do this, Stefan! You can fight it, because you love me!" Elena yelled, but it didn't work so well. Stefan's face turned into the scary vampire expression and he threw himself at her. He had enough strength to throw himself right past her to the bleachers.

"Run, Elena! Go!" he yelled at her, and this time she didn't stop to talk to him. She ran out of the gym full speed, or as fast as a human could go. I slowly walked up to Stefan with my hands up. He stared at me hungrily and angry.

"Stefan, hey," I said quietly. "I'm Lana. We haven't met, but I know you. Not personally, but I know you love her. You have to fight the compulsion because you'll never forgive yourself if you hurt her. Fight it, Stefan. You're going to be okay. She's going to be okay. But only if you fight it."

For a split second he looked relieved, the veins under his eyes disappeared. But then there was a sound outside the gym and he went right back into his vampire faze. I groaned at whoever decided to do that.

"Stefan, I need you to fight it. I'll figure out a way, just fight the compulsion until I find a way. I'll find it," I promised. "I swear. You'll be okay and so will Elena."

He nodded, but then he was gone from the gym. I sighed. _Well, there goes that._

_Back to the thinking. The Original witch created vampires. But she had an affair making Klaus a werewolf. She repressed his werewolf side with a curse. The doppelganger was supposed to die. He was supposed to be a hybrid now, but then she couldn't allow more of them on the earth. They beat vampires and werewolves._

I yelled out in frustration. "What is the answer?" I called out to no one. "Elena was supposed to die! She shouldn't be alive, but she is! The Original witch didn't want him be a werewolf and a vampire. Much less want more hybrids! What is the answer?"

_That's it, Lana! You dipshit! It's right there in front of you!_

"What are you talking about?" I asked myself out loud.

_Elena's supposed to be dead. She was supposed to die in the ritual that wasn't even supposed to happen. The Original witch didn't want more hybrids on this earth, so what's the answer, Lana? Transitioning vampires feed on human blood, so what do hybrids feed on in transition?_

I smiled. "A dead doppelganger."

_Exactly._

"I have to get to Klaus," I mumbled to myself. I took off running out of the gym and tried to find Klaus. I looked everywhere for Klaus, but I couldn't find anyone. The answer kept running through my head, and though I couldn't find anyone, there was still a smile on my face.

Finally, I came up on Klaus, Bonnie and Matt wrapped in a blanket. "Klaus!" I yelled. They all turned their attention to me. I ran to him like my life depended on it. "I know how to make your hybrids." All of them looked doubtful. When I finally caught up to them, I started explaining, "Elena…she was… supposed to die. But she didn't…so you can create hybrids. You weren't supposed to be a hybrid…the doppelganger was supposed to die in your ritual. What better way to stop something than to burn the key? Or in your case, drain it of its blood?"

Klaus took a second before smiling. "Lana, you are a genius." He grabbed my arm and started dragging me away from Bonnie and Matt. They both called for me, but I just kept walking from them. "If you're saying what I think you're saying…"

"Yeah, I am," I huffed. I wasn't an out of shape girl, but running the halls was more tiring than I expected. We rounded a corner to find Elena running Stefan. Klaus used vamp speed to run Elena and scared her.

"We've got stop running into each other like this," he said. He took Elena's arm, then mine and we started walking to the cafeteria. I wasn't sure why, but he must have heard something. As we were walking, Klaus pulled out a vial. I didn't question what he was doing and neither did Elena. He put the vial up to her neck and collected some of her blood. I then realized what he was doing. We burst in when Stefan is impaling himself with something wooden. "Now this is fascination. I've never seen this before. The only thing strong than your craving for blood is the love you have for this one girl. Why don't you turn it off?"

_Now what is that supposed to mean? 'Turn it off'?_

"No!"

_Well, apparently that's a big deal around here._

"Come on," Klaus pressed. "Your humanity is killing you. The guilt, it must be eating you up. Turn it off." He must have been talking about humanity? There was a switch to just turn off your emotions? Damon never mentioned this. It must have been why Stefan was so cool just murdering innocent people back in the day. Damon explained to me Stefan's new bunny diet. He couldn't have just gone from humans to bunnies without flipping on and off emotions. It made sense. Stefan was a good person.

Stefan yelled back, "No!" He was hunched over with the wood in his stomach until Klaus pulled it out.

"You're strong, but you're not that strong. Turn it off."

Stefan stared at Klaus for a second before pushing him and yelling, "No!"

Klaus was just fed up at this point. He pushed Stefan up against a wall. "Turn it off!" he compelled and Stefan complied. Elena mumbled 'no' over and over again _again. _She obviously knew that some shit was going to go down if Stefan had his emotions off. Without his emotions, there was absolutely no love for Elena whatsoever. So she was dead.

"What did you do?" she whispered.

Klaus turned around. "I fixed him." He quickly walked over to Elena. "But I think a test is in order, don't you? Ripper, perhaps you'd like a drink from the doppelganger?" Klaus pulled back her hair from her previous bite, which was still bleeding.

Klaus grabbed my arm and dragged me out before I could see anything. We started walking through the hallways. "Are you serious? She's the key. You're just going to do that."

Klaus replied not even looking at me, "We don't know that yet. And he's going to stop. The Ripper knows I won't allow him to kill her yet."

"Klaus, I admire how you really don't give a shit about what people think of you," I started, "but you're really an asshole. What would your siblings think? You couldn't have been born this way. Did something happen that made you such a dick?" We heard a scream, which was probably Elena's but Klaus didn't even wince.

"I told you before," he said stopping us. Klaus's hand was back at my cheek and he was looking into my eyes. "You hated what happened to me. You said that if you ever met the man who made me who I am, that you'd kill him."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't remember a single fucking thing, but I also just learned that someone did make him this way. "Klaus…"

"Lana, I'll make sure you remember," he promised genuinely. His green eyes made me want to melt in my spot right there. 1664 Lana had it real good. "But right now I have a hybrid to make." We continued walking until we reached the science lab. Caroline, Tyler and Rebekah were standing there. "Well the verdict's in," Klaus started. "The Original witch says the doppelganger is supposed to be dead."

"Does that mean we can kill her?" Rebekah inquired, a little too happy. Klaus turned his head to me. I sighed.

"No, I'm very certain that means the opposite," I answered.

"What?" Rebekah grabbed Caroline from Tyler like she knew what was going to happen. I kind of liked Rebekah, not because she was whiny, but because she was smart. She proved the blonde stereotype wrong.

"Call it a hunch," I replied vaguely.

"Drink Elena's blood." Klaus held the vial up to Tyler.

"No, no, Tyler don't!" Caroline argued.

"He's going to die anyway, Caroline," I said. "Call it an experiment." Tyler looked at me sadly. "It's okay."

This was all the encouragement he needed to drink from the vial. Then he started groaned. He fell on the table and then to the floor, taking out all the beakers that were sitting nicely in a pile. I was worried that my hunch was wrong and that I was killing him until I saw his eyes. They were yellow with vampire veins under them. Stefan mentioned that the eyes would bleed, not that they would have the vampire face. My eyes moved down to his mouth, which happily had vampire fangs extended. It worked. I was a genius.

"Well, that's a good sign." Klaus stood up from looking at Tyler. Great, Klaus got what he wanted and Tyler wasn't going to die. Now all I needed to do was cry of my friend. Before anyone could say anything, I walked out of the room and back to the gym. I knew I needed to check on Elena, but that wasn't going to be likely especially since she was with Stefan.

Dana and Chad were in the same place they were when they died. Dana's eyes were still closed, her body was limp, and there was blood at her neck. I held her body in my arms and started crying. I was alone for a while until Klaus and Rebekah walked in to find me sobbing. Klaus slowly walked over while his sister used her vampire speed to get to me.

"Lana…"

"You killed her! You are so sick and such an asshole," I yelled at Klaus. "You didn't want to be alone. Congratulations, even with your fucking hybrids, you're still alone."

I didn't know what I was doing, but I left her body. I looked at her one more time, got up and left Dana, Rebekah and Klaus behind. I found that my keys were still in my pocket, so I got in my car and I drove home. Then I remembered that I still had Elena's phone. She slipped it to me just in case I had to call someone.

_Should I go back?_ I thought when I pulled up to my driveway. _No, Klaus probably already has her. God, where is Damon? Why isn't her here?_

I quickly got out of my car and walked into the house. It was quiet and Nikki was asleep; I told her not to wait up. She knew that it was senior prank night and she totally supported it. Quietly, I went up to my room and closed my door. The tears just flowed out after that.

I wasn't sure how long I cried, but I assumed it was a while. I cried for me. I cried for Dana. I cried for Elena. I cried for Stefan. But I cried for Klaus most of all. It kind of hurt me that someone was so cruel to him to make him this way. I cried over lost memories too. Klaus had to be good at some point. Maybe he was good with me. I would have loved to see him when he was with me. When we were 'in love.'

"He saw me die," I mumbled to myself. "How? How am I here right now then? Maybe a little experiment is in order…"

I got up, wrote a note to my family and friends, then got in the car. Stefan had his emotions turned off, so he would probably do it for me. I got out Elena's phone and dialed Stefan's number. He picked up on the second ring.

"Who is this?" Stefan demanded.

I replied, "It's Lana. Look, Stefan, I need your help."

I heard him scoff. "Why would I help you?"

"Well, vampires like blood. You'll get some free blood in the deal."

"What do you need?"

"I need you to kill me."


	6. Chapter 6

**2011, Mystic Falls**

It was really late at night. I was walking back and forth at the tomb entrance, waiting for Stefan. He told me to meet him here. I wasn't sure why I was doing this, but I needed answers. If I died, then I died. But if I died and came back, there was obviously something wrong with me. I didn't know what it was but I was definitely going to find out. Stefan had his emotions off, so I was sure if he'd keep it a secret or not. I just hoped that somehow I would convince him.

Finally, I heard someone walking down the steps to the tomb. There was Stefan in the dark of the night. "So you want me to kill you?" he asked and I nodded.

"I need to find out what I am."

"What you are?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow. I was surprised that I could see him in the dark, but the moon was exceptionally bright.

"Yeah, apparently I knew Klaus back in 1664." At this new information, Stefan's expression changed. He went from a callous look to curious. "But he and Rebekah saw me die. And then I knew your brother in 1890, but he saw me die again too. I'm obviously something that isn't exactly familiar."

Stefan agreed quietly, "Yeah…"

"So will you help me?" I asked hopeful.

"I'll help you, there's blood involved."

"Stefan, I know you have your emotions turned off, but please, after you kill me, stay. Please just stay," I begged. "If I don't wake up after an hour, you can leave."

He looked doubtful. "Just come over here."

"Promise?"

"No, just come over here," he said. I sighed and walked over to him. I should have expected it. Of course he wasn't going to really help me, he just wanted to suck my blood. It wasn't every day when a girl offered her blood to you. Of course he was going to take advantage of the situation.

I stood in front of him. His scary face came in and he slowly moved the hair from my neck. "Can you be careful? Not so messy?"

"You do know tomorrow is the first day of school?" he inquired.

I did know that the next day was school, but I chose to ignore it. I was ready to die and if I came back alive feeling shitty, then I'd just have to deal with it. "Yeah, just suck my blood, _Vampy._"

He didn't say anything else before I felt a pinch in my neck. At first it hurt because it felt like two needles piercing my vein, but then it started to feel better. It didn't hurt as much; in fact it kind of felt like what I felt when I was on ecstasy. It kind of felt like something was literally just sucking blood out of my neck. I got lightheaded and the world went fuzzy. I assumed everything was felt just fine because Stefan wasn't feeding as hard as usual.

His hands around my waist tightened as he continued to drink. My waist hurt, but my brain was too busy trying to focus my vision to realize the pain. Before I blacked out, there was a moment when I remembered where I was. I was with Stefan and he was killing me. I panicked. But it didn't matter because I was already dead.

* * *

I opened my eyes groggily to see Stefan standing over at my desk. He was looking through my things shamelessly. When he heard me start sitting up, he used his vampire speed to sit next to me. I was a little startled, but I guess I was getting used to the vampires. It was my life now. I touched my neck to find that it was clean, but I felt two little bite marks.

"You're awake, finally," he said, fluffing his (my) pillow. He leaned back and crossed his feet. "So, tell me what that was about?"

"How long was I out?"

"Just a little over an hour. You started breathing, but you never woke up. I took you here, compelled auntie and you've been sleeping since," Stefan explained.

"What did you do to her?" I demanded harshly. If he drank from Nikki, I didn't care how weak I was compared to him, I'd stake his ass.

"Relax," he said, "I just compelled her to forget she saw me. And invite me in. I now have access to your house."

"That's just great," I mumbled. "So you killed me. I came back alive. Why still in this century?"

"I think you have some explaining to do."

I sighed. "I guess you do deserve an explanation. So apparently every time I die, I come back to life with no memory of my past life. I always remember the same thing: my name and Si—" I cut myself off quickly before I revealed too much. I looked over at Stefan to see if he noticed; he looked suspicious but he let me continue on. "Anyway, I was in love with both Klaus and Damon, but they both saw me die. I come back every few years, but never in the same year. That's why this time was so different. And I remember everything."

Stefan said nothing at first, he just looked like he was thinking. "I'm guessing you want me to keep this a secret?"

I nodded furiously. "I know you don't owe me anything, but I really just want this to be our little secret in case there's something more. We'll tell everything to everyone, but for now, this can just be between us, right?"

"You're right, I don't owe you anything," Stefan agreed as he walked to my window. I was worried that he'd say something until he added, "But I have a thing for secrets."

After that he disappeared from sight. I smiled. Maybe Stefan wasn't so heartless. I looked at the time and realized that it was still 3:00 in the morning. I still had to catch up on some sleep before I woke up at 6am.

Peeling off my clothes, I got into a tank top and pajamas, brushed my teeth (they felt dirty) and just when I walked out my bathroom Stefan was there next to my bed. He scared me just by his presence. I held my hand to my heart. "Stefan, you scared me. Um, why are you still here?"

"I just wanted to make something clear: I'm not your friend. I'll never be your friend. I don't care about you. I just want to do something that Klaus doesn't tell me to do."

I smiled at Stefan. "As much as you want to deny it, you're helping me because you do care. And you may not be my friend, but I'm still yours."

Stefan scoffed. "Never. I don't care anymore."

I winked at him. "Keep telling yourself that."

He disappeared again without any words. I smiled and went to bed again. Even though I was just dead, my body was still very tired. Everything, the crying, the hard thinking, the dying: it all was very tiring. I really did need the rest. I hoped that I'd find out what was wrong with me before Stefan decided to tell anyone. Fascinating, really. Dying and alive again.

* * *

I looked at myself one more time in the mirror, just to make sure I looked presentable. I tried calling Carly and getting her opinion, but she never replied. I had met most of the seniors at senior prank night, but I was still the new girl and I wanted to look good. I had a blank tank top on with a blue button up shirt open, dark blue faded jeans, and black Converse. Aunt Nikki had surprised me with a new gray bag for the school year. I was ready to face the year even though my best friend was dead and I had died. The three hours I got of sleep was good enough because I woke up refreshed for the day.

I owned no scarves, so I just had to put as much make up as I could over the bite marks without making it look weird and keep my nearly untamable black curly hair over it. I decided just for today I would ditch my nerd glasses and go for contacts, but they were still in my bag.

Just before walking out my door, I checked my phone for any texts or calls from Carly or Cara in the time I was in the shower. Both of them seemed to be ignoring me for some reason. Cara texted me last night, but when I replied, she never did back. I felt like I was being cut off from all my friends except the vampire drama-filled ones.

Once I got downstairs, Aunt Nikki was setting a plate of pancakes down on the table. I smiled. "Thanks, Niks. I'm glad to have a plate of pancakes on my first day."

Just as I was about to sit down, she sat down before me. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she claimed. "I made these for me. If you wanted pancakes, you needed to get your lazy ass up and make yourself some. But you now need to get to school, so too late."

My smile disappeared and I shook my head. Just when I thought my life would be normal, my aunt had to go and be a bitch. Didn't family members usually do that? Make each other breakfast when it was an important day of their life? Well, apparently Nikki didn't get that email.

"I guess I'll just take an apple," I said, picking up one from the bowl.

"Don't they have vending machines? Just get something from there."

I stared at her. "Yeah, they're full of junk."

"Oh, teenagers don't eat that nowadays?" she questioned with her mouth full of pancake. _Oh, how I would love that in my mouth… They look so good. _"Well, buy me something."

"You are a real fatass," I said to her, grabbing the keys.

"I'm your authority figure," she called to me. "Show some respect!"

"I'll respect you once you wipe the syrup off your chin!" I called back. When she didn't reply quickly, I assumed that she wiped the non-existent syrup off her face.

"Liar!" I heard before closing the door. Every time I ended a conversation with my aunt, I was always smiling in the end. Maybe it was because I talked to her like I talked to my friends. If I talked to my mom like that, I'd miss the first day because of bad bruises on my butt (just kidding). But she was only 24, so she knew what it was like to be childish. I realized that I didn't even know what she did for work. A sadness washed over me at that recognition.

I mumbled to myself, "I'm a bad person." I started the car. Arriving at Mystic Falls High School in less than ten minutes, I sighed. This was going to be my life for the next year. Then I'd be in college somewhere trying to forget the shit that went down.

I got out of my car, gaining a few stares, and went straight to the main office. There was a blonde woman with not-so-pretty glasses gave me my schedule and my locker. I went to my locker, put a few books in and started walking down the hall to my first class. Just as I looked up to see where I was going, I ran into a Mr. Stefan Salvatore. He had a shit-eating grin on his face, telling me he just did something bad.

"Hello, Steffers," I greeted as genuinely as I could. I honestly didn't even want to deal with the vampire drama, but I should have known. I was already dragged into it. "Do you know where Mr. Saltzman's class is?"

"You have history too?" I knew that he was planning something just by the look in his eyes.

"What did you do?" I demanded. He took my arm and we started walking. The bell rung like it hated me and I was forced to follow Stefan. I stopped, making him stop too right in front of the classroom. I saw Elena, Caroline and Tyler all look at me.

He looked innocent, but I could still tell he was evil in his eyes. "What, _friend?_"

I smiled. "So we're friends now?"

He winked at me. "Yup." Then he walked in the classroom with me trailing right behind him. Caroline and Elena looked at each other suspiciously and I realized what I just did. I was just friendly with the enemy. And that wouldn't play well with them, I knew it. I sat a seat right in front of Elena.

Mr. Saltzman started talking, "Welcome back, seniors. Let's turn our brains back on, starting with the country's original founders—the Native Americans." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw blonde.

"What about the Vikings?" Rebekah Mikaelson asked, taking a seat right next to me. I looked at her with wide eyes and she just smiled.

Mr. Saltzman replied, "Well, there is no actual evidence that the Vikings settled in the United States. Who are you?"

"My name's Rebekah," she stated. "I'm new, just like my friend over here, Lana." She looked over at me and so did the teacher. "And history's my favorite subject."

The class went on without any more interruptions, but I was too busy thinking of the trainwreck that was my life. I had officially let Stefan in on my secret without fully trusting him, Rebekah kept popping up and claiming we were best friends, I had two vampire lovers, and I was some kind of supernatural being that doesn't die. When the bell rung, I shot out of that seat so quick, it was like I was a vampire myself. But I didn't get far without Rebekah stopping me.

Unlike before, she had an innocent, hopeful look on her face. "Hey, Lana."

I knew that being a bitch to her wasn't right. I had no reason to really hate her. Sure she worked with her shit brother, but they were family. I couldn't blame her really. "Hi, Rebekah. How are you doing?" She looked surprised at my questioned. I quickly added, "Well, Stefan told me that Klaus just left you, so…"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered smiling. We stood there kind of awkwardly. "Well, I'm going to try and be normal teen. I want to have friends, and I know you've heard me say it before, but we were once friends. And I believe we can be again. I'm going to be trying out for the spirit squad like a normal teen and I was hoping you'd be there for support."

I wasn't crazy about helping an Original, but she had an expression that I just couldn't say no to. I nodded and she cheered. "Thank you. Can you meet me afterschool on the field? That's where it'll be held."

"Sure," I smiled. She was about to walk away before I stopped her. "Rebekah, I know that you are a vampire and I know that Elena and her friends probably hate you, but I don't. I don't hate you so you can stop trying so hard. But I'm not saying I like you. I'll give you a chance, and if you're good enough, then we'll see."

Rebekah smiled. "Lana, you always were funny. You funny without being mean. I missed you all those years."

I uncomfortably looked down at my feet. "Yeah, well, I don't really remember. I'm sorry." I couldn't bear to see the look on Rebekah's face. It must have been a mix between disappointment and hurt.

We both listened to the bell ring. "That's the bell." She walked off before I could say anything else.

I sighed as I watched her walk down the hall before looking at my schedule for my next class. I didn't get very far when Stefan showed up again. "Hi, Stefan. I know we're friends, but you can leave me alone."

"That was pathetic," he said. "Seeing you two 'reconnect.'"

"Don't be mean."

Stefan ignored me. "Let me escort you to your next class." He offered his arm.

"How do you know my next class?"

"Klaus asked me to keep an eye on you and Elena. So naturally we all have our classes together." I was happy that I had classes with someone I knew, but sad that I had classes with an asshole. Of course Klaus asked Stefan to watch over me. I was his true love.

"Wow, I didn't realize you were Klaus's bitch." The words slipped right out of my mouth before I could process the thought. But Stefan didn't look hurt. In fact, he didn't look fazed by the comment at all. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"I really don't care. Say whatever you want, but we're already late."

It didn't surprise me when I walked in the classroom to find Elena there also. She gave me a curious look and I just shrugged. Stefan and I sat on either side of her. The classes were quick and soon enough I was walking down the field next to Rebekah.

"You didn't tell me Elena and Caroline were on the team," I whispered.

"Eh, doesn't matter. It's my senior year," she replied. Did she plan this? Did she just want to ruin Elena's life? Or was she just watching over her for Klaus? "You can go sit on the bleachers." I obeyed and quickly went to sit on the bleachers to watch them. I didn't want to stand next to Rebekah for another minute. She was annoying me.

The practice was quick. Caroline had a serious problem with Rebekah being on the team, but that didn't discourage Rebekah one bit. They all finished up and Elena walked right up to me. "What are you doing with her?"

I sighed. "She said that we were friends in our past life. I have no _real _reason to hate her, so I decided to give it a try. But if she's out to hurt you, I won't even try anymore."

Elena stared at me for a long time before saying, "No, it's just… It feels like she's imposing on my life. Like she's trying to take it."

I defended, "Well, she was daggered for almost 60 years and her brother is a raging psycho. I think that would make anyone dream for the cliché teenage life." Elena laughed. "But the second she starts to threaten you, I'll throw her out."

"Thanks, Lana," she said. "You really are a good person."

"Yeah, I know," I agreed. "Now go get in shape." She laughed again and went to run on the track. My attention was brought to Rebekah being cheered on. She did a few flips and landed in the splits. I let a small smile play on my lips. "I have to admit, the girl's got some moves."

Rebekah looked over at me and winked before talking to the other girls, basking in her glory. I checked my phone as I rolled my eyes. There were still no new messages from either of my friends. I was startled when I looked up by Stefan.

"Let's walk," he suggested. I shrugged and picked up my bag. "I've been thinking about your condition and—"

"Stefan, why are you talking to me here?" I asked, interrupting him. "In public. Our little thing is supposed to be secret."

He frowned playfully. "What? You don't want to be seen with me?"

I let out a humorless laugh. "I don't want anyone to get any ideas. Just text me or something."

"Well, you have my number." Suddenly I remembered that I needed to return Elena's phone to her. "What?" he asked when he saw the look on my face.

"Nothing. I just have to go." I turned to walk away, but his hand gripping my arm stopped me. That's when I noticed Rebekah, Tyler, and Caroline all watching me. With their vamp hearing, I guessed they were now listening.

"What?"

"It's not a big deal, Stefan," I sighed, trying to stay nice. "Please, just let me go. I need to give Elena something."

"What? Are you running off to tell her? Is Elena the big boss?"

I frowned. "No! I just have her phone and I need to give it back."

Stefan's suspicion was gone. "Okay," he chirped. I didn't realize he took something from me until he held out my phone after putting his number in it. "Now _you _have it."

I rolled my eyes. "Bye, Stefan." I easily pulled my arm out of his grip and followed Elena who was running from the field. I felt eyes following me all the way to the girls' showers. When I finally caught up to her, I called out, "Elena!"

She turned around quickly. "Hey, did you need something?"

"No, it's more of what you need." I held out her phone. "I forgot to give it back when you gave it to me last night." She smiled and took the phone.

"I was wondering where it was. Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll see you tomorrow," I bid my goodbye. Right when I turned around, Rebekah was standing there. My heart jumped but I showed no signs of being afraid.

She looked at me curiously. "What was that?"

"I just gave Elena her phone."

"And with Stefan?"

I quickly came up with a lie. "Klaus wanted him to watch over me, so he gave me his phone number. He started to freak out when I said I needed to see Elena. I don't know why."

She nodded, but still looked a bit suspicious. I was a pro at lying, so good I kept my heartbeat steady when I lie. It wasn't exactly a trait I was proud about, but now that vampires had come in my life, I was glad I was such a professional.

"Let me just shower and then the Grill it'll be," she told me and I nodded. I waited for Rebekah just outside the showers. As I waited, I got a text from Stefan.

_U going to the Bonfire tonight? _he asked me.

I quickly replied, _Yea, why?_

_We'll talk then._

Rebekah came out of the showers all fresh and new. I didn't reply to his text just in case she wanted to know who I was texting. I always knew when to lie and when to just avoid the subject. Rebekah could check my phone and catch me in my lie. It was just best to avoid it.

"Ready?" I asked and she nodded. I led her to my car, wondering where hers was. "So how did you get here?"

"I ran," she answered simply. I couldn't say I was surprised, but I just didn't expect it from Rebekah. "I know, weird. But Stefan left without me."

"He's all heartless and emotionless now. You kind of have to expect it," I replied. We arrived at the Grill in silence and ordered fries. I didn't know what to say to her. It was all very awkward to me. She was the sister of a freak, but she also used to be my best friend. "So explain to me: How was our relationship?"

She smiled and started talking. When I found out what we did, I smiled too. We sounded like better friends than I was with Cara. She explained how we could almost read each other's minds or tell what we were feeling. Rebekah was totally comfortable telling me everything that we did together and she didn't hold back. Apparently, she really loved me like a sister. She grew up with all boys, so she said that I was the best thing to happen to her at that time.

"I mean, it was a little awkward when I really thought about you with Nik," she said, "but I got over it. Sisters, that's what we were. I accepted that you loved Nik just as much as you loved me." The story was so fascinating and interesting, I could stop listening. I figured most people would tune out her after five minutes, but Rebekah made it so…non-boring. She had some serious storytelling skills.

"Wow…" was all I said when she finished.

She nodded with a smug smile. "We were the best of friends." I took a second to take in everything that I was just told. "Do you know if Matt is single?"

I felt a sharp pain in my chest when she asked me. _Dana wanted to ask him out… She liked him too. _It took all my strength to not just start crying there in front of Rebekah. When she saw how much I was hurting she asked me if I was okay. "No, I'm fine." I sucked in a sharp breath. "Matt is single. But watch out because he's Elena's ex."

Rebekah scoffed. "Then I'm totally fine with taking him." I frowned at her comment, but I didn't say anything else. Somehow our conversation drifted to different topics and subjects. My phone ringed from Damon a few times, but I gingerly pressed the _Ignore _button without even knowing it.

I finally looked at the time and freaked out. "Beks, I'm sorry, I have to get home and get started on homework before the Bonfire. I can't believe they gave us homework on the first day."

I started to gather up my things. "Do you need…" My voice trailed off when I saw the way she was looking at me. I spotted tears in her eyes. "Beks…?"

She smiled. "You used to call me that. You used to call me that. I missed you so much." A tear fell down her cheek and I realized how hard it must have been for her. She told me after me she didn't really make many more friends. Her and Nik—Klaus were always on the run from someone. The man who hurt Klaus.

I smiled at her and said, "I'm here now. We'll make up for lost time." She nodded, letting tears fall again. "Do you need a ride?"

"No, I'm just going to stay here for a little while longer," she replied. "Bye, Lana."

"Bye, Rebekah." I got up from my seat and slowly walked to my car. I really liked Rebekah. Damon made her sound just as evil as her brother, but really she was just like me. Just a girl trying to find her place. And she was lost for years. I helped her find her way, but then I just disappeared. I regretted dying on her and Klaus. It seemed like they were genuinely good when they were with me. Rebekah said, 'You brought back our humanity.'

I got to my house in a few minutes, rushed up the stairs, and started on my homework. It was only Math and looking up something for science, but Math hated me. If Math was a person, they'd stab me over and over again, but not let me die. Every time I looked at an equation, I literally got a headache. I was working hard on my Math when my phone rang. It was an unknown number.

"Hi?"

"Lana," Elena's voice greeted and I smiled.

"Oh, hi." I forgot that I programmed my cell into her phone. "What did you need?"

"Um, you know the Bonfire? Could you meet us in Ric's room?"

"Sure, but who's Ric?" I asked nervously. I had never heard of this Ric person.

"Oh, he's Mr. Saltzman," Elena answered. "My real mom was his wife and Damon turned her into a vampire. They kind of met and now he's a vampire hunter. Also Damon's friend. He knows everything. Plus he dated my aunt."

I didn't realize there was another human in the mix. "Oh, okay. I'll meet you guys there."

"Thanks." I hung up the phone and stared into space. What were they planning? And when did the history teacher come in the picture? It didn't matter at that second because I had some Math to finish.

* * *

I found _Ric's _classroom quickly and walked in on Caroline, Elena, Damon and Ric. They all stared at me for a little, Damon's gaze the longest. "So what did I miss?"

"Why is she here?" Caroline asked, not mean, just curiously. I remembered what she did to Carly and I almost scowled at her.

"I asked her to be here," Elena replied, then she turned to me. "We're going to vervain Stefan and lock him up. Just until we figure out the Klaus situation."

I nodded. _But I need him! Stefan is helping me. _I didn't say anything, I just listened to the plan. Caroline was supposed to make sure jail cells were ready, Damon was supposed to distract Rebekah and I was supposed to help vervain Stefan. Behind me, I heard Tyler walk in.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. His eyes lingered on mine for a second. "What are we talking about?"

Elena said, "I need to you to raid your mom's vervain supply. We need as much as we can for Stefan."

"I can't do that to Stefan," Tyler argued. He was on my side? Hallelujah!

"Why?" Elena asked just as confused as the rest of us. "It's in his best interest."

"But not in Klaus's."

While Damon muttered, "Uh oh," Caroline asked Tyler, "Why are you so obsessed with making him happy?"

"Klaus gave me a gift! I'm grateful for that." Damon slowly made his way forward to grab something on the desk. Tyler turned away. "Sorry, I can't help you." Just as he started walking out the door, Damon injected him with something I guessed was vervain. Caroline ran forward to Tyler's aid. He was groaning on the floor.

"Why did you do that?"

"He's sired," Damon answered.

"Sired?"

"It happens when a vampire turns another vampire. It's rare, but I guess not so much for hybrids. Klaus's blood turned Tyler and now he's grateful."

I asked, "How does it work?"

"It's more of an appreciation thing. Klaus turned him and now he wants to please his master," Damon answered.

"How do we fix him?" Caroline asked.

"Find a new boyfriend."

"Alright, we've got the plan? Let's go." Everyone started to move from the classroom and Tyler was moved by Caroline. I walked out the school to the party and pulled out my phone. I wasn't going to tell Stefan what they were planning, but I was going to talk to him before it happened. I wasn't thrilled to know that Stefan was going to be locked up, but if it was for his own good, then I'd do it.

_You wanted to talk?_

_Not here, later. I just needed to know you were coming._

_Why?_

In an instant, Stefan was right in front of me. "So we could have fun together." I raised my eyebrow.

"I'm not going to sleep with—"

"Not like that," Stefan quickly interrupted. He held up a drink. "You are the only person who'll talk to me without bringing up my humanity. I want to talk to you."

I took the drink from Stefan and poured it out. "I don't drink."

"Is it because what happened in the past?" he asked. My blood went cold. He leaned closer to my ear, "I know everything. From the rape to the drugs. Everything." He pulled back and smiled. "Now, have a drink."

I didn't know what to say. I was stunned. I wasn't exactly hurt by him, but I was definitely surprised. I didn't even think that Stefan knew anything about me. We didn't exactly have a stellar greeting and he was only helping me for his entertainment. When he held out his drink, I took it and actually drank. It tasted like cheap beer.

"Stefan, someone needs to start taking money out of their pocket for good booze," I said, making him smile.

"I couldn't agree more. So get any research on your condition?"

"Why do you keep calling it a 'condition'?"

"That's what it is, isn't it?" Stefan almost sounded sincere. I stared up at him for a while, but I couldn't find any humanity or anything close to that.

I responded, "I guess. I thought of it more of a curse."

"Curse? You get to come back when you die?"

"Yeah, but I don't ever get to move on. I lose my memories and I have past lives. I leave people and then haunt them if they ever see me again. People know you can't die, but me? I'm just a freak."

He stopped me and looked into my eyes. What I saw was _almost _resembling hurt. "You're not a freak. You are just different."

I smiled. "What out, Stefan. With that look, I might think you care about me." Suddenly what was left of the emotion was gone and it was replaced with stone cold eyes. "Oh, now it's gone."

"I don't care, Lana," he said stiffly.

"Then why are you helping me?" I asked. It was the question on my mind. There was no point in beating around the bush.

He looked uneasy. If I didn't know better, I'd call that an _emotion. _"I can't help but feel something for you."

My eyes widen. "But Stefan, we just met…" My tone was playful.

"No, I mean, a connection of some sort. When I'm around you, I feel some kind of a pull. Like magnets."

When I heard this, I realized that I felt it too. That's why I felt so comfortable around him. When I first found out with Damon, I was a little scared. He was a vampire. But Stefan was a rogue vampire and I still didn't feel weird. With him I just felt so…calm.

"Tell me you feel it too."

"I actually do. When I'm around you, I feel calm. I feel comfortable." And once again, the look on Stefan's face looked_ almost_ relieved. It was _almost _an emotion. I put a playful smile on. "What? Do I make you all hot and bothered?"

He smirked back at me. "You're the one who says you're 'comfortable' with me," he teased back. While he leaned on a tree, I started cheering on the guy at the keg stand. He was going for a while. Then Elena caught my eye. I realized that we stopped just so they could eye flirt with each other.

"You know what? I'm going to go. Have fun with Elena." I left Stefan to his tree, his drink and his doppelganger while I went to another tree to check if I had any messages. There was still nothing from either of my friends. I didn't even see Carly at school. There was definitely something going on with both of them.

I decided that I had enough of the party. I was done with the whole party scene. I didn't want to get dragged back into my old habits. I started walking, trying to find my way out but it was so confusing. After ten minutes of endless walking, I finally made it to the parking lot. What I saw was a whole lot less party.

Ric was standing next to a burning car which looked like had Elena and another girl in it. I ran to them, assuming I could do something. "What happened?" I yelled to Ric.

"It just set on fire!" I watched as Elena tried hard to get out, but then she gave up. The girl in the driver's seat did nothing for Elena or even tried to get out. Then the trunk of the car flew off and Elena tried to climb out. That's when I noticed Stefan was laying the backseat. Elena tried get out, but the girl in the car took her foot and held her back. I ran around the back to pull Elena from the girl.

"Let go!" I shouted to the girl and her head instantly turned towards me. She looked confused. My grip on Elena faltered as I stared at the girl the same way, but she suddenly disappeared. Elena was pulled into Ric's arms.

He pulled her away while I tried to grab Stefan. They both helped me in the end and we ran away from the car before it blew. Just as we got to a railing, it exploded behind us with a loud sound and the heat on my back reminded me of summer days in Phoenix. I held Stefan in my arms, trying to keep him up. He obviously still was weak from the vervain.

We were breathing heavily. "What happened?" I repeated. No one answered me. Ric propped himself under one of Stefan's shoulders and I did the same but on the other one. I led them to my car. We put Stefan in the backseat while I got in the driver's and Elena in the passenger. Ric stayed in the back with Stefan.

"I don't know what happened," Elena said as I drove away from the scene. "Go to the boarding house." No one said anything after that. WE all just sat quiet as I drove them to the house. I noticed that Elena had a cut on her cheek.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Her reply, "I'm fine. I'm just… I'm fine."

We made it to the boarding house and as soon as Ric opened the door, Stefan used his vampire speed into the house. We all sighed at our failed plan. "I think you need to get that patched up," I said, referring to her cut. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good," Ric answered. "I wasn't the one in the burning car."

We all walked in the house. I felt like I was at home again and sat down on the couch. While Elena went to find Damon, Ric poured himself a drink. "So what's your story?" I inquired. "History teacher turned vampire hunter."

He chuckled. "Is that how you see it?"

"But seriously, why are you like this? How were you dragged into this mess? Why are you Damon's friend?"

"My wife was turned by Damon."

"I know that, but why get caught up in his shit. Elena's not your problem and neither is Damon. Why do you do it, Ric?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I just feel like I need to protect people from what's out there. Elena was in need of my help and Damon was the guy who killed my wife. After she died, I swore that I would find him and kill him. And just for your information, I'm not Damon's friend."

"But he said—"

"We were, but we aren't now." I nodded. "How are you here?"

"I knew Damon back in 1890," I answered and his eyes widened. "Yeah, I'm old. He saw me die, but somehow I came back with on memories. And before that I was with Klaus in 1664. That's how I know Rebekah. But I don't remember a single thing."

"Weird…" he mumbled. He looked like he was thinking.

"I'm a freak, I know. You can say it. I just wish that I can find out what I am." He nodded and walked to the entrance. "Tell me when you want to leave. I'll drive you back."

He nodded and then walked out the door. Just as he walked out, Stefan walked in. I don't think they saw each other though. Stefan stopped in front of me with his arms crossed. "I didn't know, Stefan," I lied. "I didn't expect them to make a move. Especially not in front of an audience."

He looked at me for a long time. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't," I replied standing up. "But I'm telling you right now that I didn't know."

I walked out the same way Ric did. Now I'm not saying that I was happy that I just lied to Stefan, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. I still needed him on my side. It was just a little white lie. Not like he would find out. I figured that they'd never talk about it again or drop names. I found Elena, Damon and Ric in a foyer, just as Elena and Ric were leaving.

I looked over Elena's shoulder to Damon's face. He looked smitten. "I'll meet you guys by the car." Elena nodded, but she didn't look so happy. I knew they had something going on with each other. Ric and Elena walked out of the room, leaving Damon and I together. "So how was Rebekah?" He scoffed. "How's Elena then?"

"Lana, we need to talk about it," he stated, walking closer to me.

"Talk about what?"

"Us."

I looked down at my feet. "You know, Klaus said the same thing."

"What?" I forgot that he didn't know. Only a few people were there to find out that Klaus and I used to be lovers.

I looked up into his eyes only to find hurt. "Damon, before you, there was Klaus. He knew me too. We were kind of a thing back in the day, 1664 to be exact. I don't remember either of you, but you both claim that I was truly in love with you both. Since you're in love with Elena and Klaus is an asshole, I think I'm just going to stick to humans."

Damon didn't say anything. He just kissed me. And for the sake of his feelings, I kissed him back. I really didn't feel anything for Damon, honestly, but I kissed him back. His hands tightened around my waist, bringing me closer to him. It reminded me of the experience I had with Stefan. When he killed me. My death scared me, causing me to bite his lip.

Damon pulled back, revealing to be that I drew blood. "Kinky," Damon smirked.

"Damon, I'm sorry…"

"Nah, it's okay. You used to always bite my lips," he told me as he let me go. "Go on, run to Elena and Ric. Go home."

"Okay, Damon. I'll see you tomorrow."

"What?"

I smiled. "You said you wanted to talk? We'll talk tomorrow."

I walked out the door and found Elena and Ric patiently waiting in the car. First was Ric, and then it was Elena who I dropped off. She thanked me for tonight and I asked her if she was okay one more time. When she assured me she was fine, I drove off to my house.

"How was the bonfire?" Aunt Nikki asked me.

"Interesting," I answered back. "And I'm pooped. I think I'm just going to sleep." Nikki nodded and returned to watching something on the TV. I grabbed an apple before walking up the stairs. I needed something to help get the taste of cheap beer out of my mouth.

In my room, I walked up to a surprise. There was my sister, standing next to my desk looking at pictures. I dropped the apple in shock. I hadn't seen her in so long. Why did she suddenly show up? "Zoey…" I breathed. She turned to me and smiled. "What are you doing here?"

Her smile instantly turned sour. "I'm dead."


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter contains a little bit of Niklaus Mikaelson...**

* * *

**1664, England**

"May I ask how long we will be staying with the Smiths?" I asked Lady Arabela, and she glared at me. Lady Arabela thought I was scum and I thought she was a walking pile of _shit_ in a beautiful dress, but we both kept our opinions to ourselves. I didn't remember my past masters, but I knew they weren't as mean as she was. Lady Arabela had her seventeenth birthday yesterday and she was told that she was to be with the Smith's for a while. I didn't know if they were to be wed or if her father just wanted rid her from the mansion (I know I would), but all I knew was that we were going to be at the Smith's for a while.

I had been Lady Arabela's maid for three years and there had still been no friendly interaction between us. When we first met, she was nice. My lady was only thirteen at that time and she didn't know how much of a 'piece of scum' I was until she talked to the other ladies. When they found out we were playing together when I wasn't serving her, they were disgusted. Her father thought that she would want a maid at the same age as she was for friends, but after a talk with the others, Lady Arabela was ashamed to have a _black _maid. All the other girls had the regular light-skinned ones. _She _was ashamed. Ha! I felt ashamed when the other maids said what a _bitch _my lady was.

Everything I said was stupid to her and she would always glare at me. I never knew if I did something wrong to make her hate me so much, but then I got over it. She was not worth my time if she would act like that. (Well, actually I had to dedicate my time to serving her, so I guess she was.)

I said nothing else to her; I looked out the window. The scenery was so different from the home I was used to, yet it was so beautiful. Days back home were always cold and rainy, but here the sun seemed to shine. I wanted to stay here and just live without any masters or servants. I wanted to build a house, be wed, have children and just live. Being enslaved wasn't my favorite part of life and if I was given the opportunity to escape, I would.

Finally after a few minutes, we arrived at the house. Lady Arabela got out first, of course, and I followed her pursuit. While she got help out of the carriage, I had to get out by myself without any assistance. I had seen some maids got a little help, but since I was _black, _I was expected to do things all on my own.

I stared at the house with a big smile. I loved back at the mansion at home in Cheshire, but here was nice too. The mansion was bigger than ours could ever be with flowers, trees and animals. It was surprising how beautiful something could be, but I expected it was because of the sun. Lady Arabela got shade from an umbrella while I had to walk in the burning sun. I didn't mind it though. I loved the sun when it came, the warmth on my skin. I didn't want the umbrella anyway. I followed behind Lady Arabela on her left side up to the door, which was automatically opened.

Inside, waiting for her arrival was a man and a woman, standing patiently. The man was very attractive; sandy blonde hair, green eyes and pink lips. I immediately avoided his eyes, but I couldn't help but peek up at him. He was looking right at me in wonder, which, if I had lighter skin, would make me blush. Instead, I settled for a warm feeling in my cheeks and a shy smile. The woman was smiling at me and I studied her; she had blonde curls, blue eyes and a beautiful flawless complexion. They were both very attractive, no wonder they were siblings.

"Lady Arabela," Mr. Smith greeted, though his eyes were on me. She held out her hand and that's when he looked at her. Mr. Smith kissed her hand and she curtsied. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you, Mr. Smith," she replied in her high voice. Lady Arabela's voice wasn't annoying, but it was unusually high for someone her age. "Thank you. And you?"

"I'm fine." His eyes returned to me while Lady Arabela introduced herself to the blonde woman. I was too busy being embarrassed to listen to their introduction. "And who is this fine lady?" Lady Arabela was confused and so was I. Whenever she met men, they never asked about me. They just assumed I was her maid and that was what I was. Just a maid. Not her friend, not her sister (obviously), but a maid. Yet Mr. Smith had some kind of fascination with me.

"Excuse me?"

"Is she your maid?" the blonde lady asked. Lady Arabela nodded slowly.

Mr. Smith's eyes went to Lady Arabela's and he said, "You can leave now." I looked at the expression on my lady's face; it was blank. But as soon as she turned around, it was confused. I started to follow her, confused, when Mr. Smith's hand shot out and caught me. "Not you, _Angel._"

Lady Arabela stopped too. She turned around with a bewildered expression. "But she's just a maid. I'm—"

"Weren't you going?" the blonde sister said harshly. Lady Arabela had gained the same blank expression and she left. I was alone with Mr. Smith and his sister. He pulled me closer to him, close enough so he could see my eyes. My hazel eyes. "What's your name, love?"

My throat went dry and my eyes widened. I never was asked a question. Ever. I didn't know how to reply to them. I wasn't sure why they wanted _me _here, especially since my dark skin was what ran most men away. I finally found my voice and answered, "Lana."

Mr. Smith smiled. "Lana… Beautiful, really."

"My name is Rebekah," the blonde woman said to me. "This is my brother, Niklaus."

"I'd love it if you called me Klaus, Lana."

"Why am I here?" I asked nervously, letting my Scottish accent lace my voice. Rebekah looked even more interested when she heard my voice. "I'm just a maid…"

"No," _Klaus _denied. "You are now mine."

"Yours?" I stuttered. What did that mean? Being _his_?

"You are now _my_ lady."

**2011, Mystic Falls**

I kept on dialing Carly and Cara's numbers, but neither of them picked up. The tears flow heightened when I got more frustrated. For some reason, Aunt Nikki decided to leave me alone in the house and I had no one to talk to. But it wasn't like I could talk to her. She had no idea about the supernatural world. I had just seen the ghost of my _dead _sister. I knew she was a ghost because she didn't run away or use any vampire speed, she just slowly faded and then she was gone. I called for her and called for her to come back, but she never did. I needed someone to talk to, but no one was picking up. Finally, my finger lingered over _Elena's _number. We weren't even close friends, but I had no idea who else to call. Rebekah came to my mind, but I didn't want to invite her into the house in case she was looking for a snack one day and decided to eat Nikki.

Elena was the first one to pick up.

"Lana?" I wondered why she sounded so weird, but then I realized it was early in the morning.

"Elena, she's dead!" I cried into the phone. It surprisingly felt so much better to tell someone, but I was still hurt. "My sister is dead!"

"Lana, what are you talking about? Lana, just tell me where your house is; I'll come right over." I wasn't sure if I wanted Elena over especially since I was probably going to look like a cry-baby mess. Elena was cool and collected while I was emotional. She might have thought that I was a baby for acting the way I was and just leave me.

In the end I decided I needed a friend, so I told her where my house was. Elena told me she would be right over. We hung up and I started crying harder. Elena arrived at my house sooner than I thought. I led her up to my room and the second she closed the door, I let the tears flow again. Like a good friend, she held me in her arms and handed me tissues. Once my sobs calmed down, she finally asked, "Tell me what happened."

This made me want to cry harder, but I pulled myself together to answer her question. Surprisingly, my voice came out stronger than I expected when I answered, "I came home. I saw my sister standing in my room, right over there. I thought that she was here to visit me, but then she told me she was dead. Zoey was a ghost. And then she just disappeared. And it's not like we were really close or anything because I don't remember her and she left before we could become friends again, but she is still my sister. And she's dead! How is she dead? When did she die? And I hate myself for not finding out where she was and helping her! I'm a horrible sister!"

Elena shushed me when my sentences led off into cries. She rocked us back and forth on my bed. "Lana, it's not your fault. Your sister left. You never could have guessed where she was, much less help her. It's not your fault. It's not your fault…"

Elena just let me cry after that. When I cried all the tears I could, she led me to the bathroom, sat me down on the toilet seat, and started to dry my eyes. Once she was done, we both fell into a silence. "I know what it's like. I've lost so many people. When I lost _Uncle _John, I felt horrible. I didn't know why I was feeling so sad because he and I never really got along, but then I realized it was because I had just lost family. Losing family, knowing them well or not, is hard. Your sister, Zoey, you might not have known her so well, but she still was your sister. That death will hurt no matter what. And you can't blame yourself for not saving her. I wanted to save my aunt and my uncle, but I couldn't. And after a while I realized that it wasn't my fault. It just happened."

I sighed. She was right. It was Zoey's choice to leave and not tell anyone where she was going. I couldn't have saved her even if I tried. I asked, "Elena, you've lost so many people. How do you get over it?"

"You don't," she replied sadly. "You don't get over it. But you can move on. It takes a little while, but you move on."

"Thank you for this," I said. "I know that we aren't really good friends, but you still came. Thank you, Elena."

She smiled at me. "Of course. We aren't really good friends, but we need to change that. Let's talk. Plus, you need a distraction." Elena put her hand out for me to take and I took it gratefully. We went back into my room and sat down on my bed. "Tell me everything. I know that you had some tough times in your past, and I want to know."

I told her everything. I even told her a few details I hadn't shared with Damon or Rebekah. In the end, she didn't give me the pity look. Elena must have known what it felt like to get that look. At first I was grateful for the pity; I knew people cared. But then I started to get fed up with it because it happened so long ago. I was over it, so they needed to be too. Elena didn't even look sad, she just looked angry. Very, very angry.

"Where is this _Jim?_" she asked, gritting her teeth.

"He's in prison. I don't know how he got off the first time, but he did. And then he found me to do it again." I didn't even sound sad. I was so past the whole 'drugs and rape' part of my life that I was bored talking about it. It was a dirty past, but it was definitely something I was over. (I still did have nightmares about it though.)

"That's just disgusting," Elena mumbled furiously. "That's horrible how he did it twice. He's such a fucking coward." My eyes widened because I had never heard Elena curse. She didn't seem like the type to curse. I wasn't either, out loud anyway, but she of all people was last on my list of Cursers. "And then you remembered the second time?"

"Yeah, it was horrible. I still have dreams about it," I told her. She just shook her head disgusted. I wanted to laugh at her reaction. Both Rebekah and Damon were angry about the whole thing, but they weren't this angry. Carly and Dana were both a little depressed after I told them. "Hey, do you know a Carly Reeves?"

Elena looked back at me. She looked guilty. "Carly Reeves?"

"Yeah, I met her on my first day here. We even had a sleepover, but after senior prank night, which was a total fail, she hasn't been texting me or replying to any of my calls. I haven't even seen her at school. I was just wondering if you saw her anywhere."

Elena shook her head. "No, I haven't, I'm sorry. Have you gone to her house? Maybe she's mad at you?"

"Maybe, I just don't know why…"

"And I'm sorry about Dana. I know you guys were friends," Elena said sadly. I nodded. "What Klaus did… What he made Stefan did was horrible. Dana and Chad were innocent."

I agreed, "Yeah, they were. But that didn't stop Klaus from compelling Stefan to rip out their necks." Elena looked a little uneasy. "What?"

"You do know that Stefan never would have done—"

"I know. Stefan drinks from Bambi's, not Barbie's." Elena laughed. "So what about you? I know you had a hard time too."

She looked down at her hands. "I mean, not as hard as you, but yeah. When my parents died, it felt like my whole life fell apart. I was sad, my brother went to drugs and my aunt Jenna was dragged into our mess. I started school, and I met Stefan. He made me happier. So much happier. Then I found out that he was a vampire, and that's where all my problems started. I met Damon, who wasn't exactly great at the time—" I thought, _When is ever great? _"—and he wanted Katherine. So stuff happened, he abused Caroline, went to the tomb she was supposed to be in, and found out she wasn't there. Then we found out about the moonstone and Caroline was turned. All this stuff happened, I found out about my real mom Isobel, then she died. John sacrificed his life for me, Jenna died, the sacrifice happened and everything that's happened is my fault. We've had some casualties like Rose and Andie. Then we've daggered an Original who was daggered by his brother. Everything is just a little messed up. I want to blame it all on myself because I'm the doppelganger, but I know that not everyone's deaths are mine."

I stared at Elena for a long time. I took in everything I had heard, but only one thing caught my attention out of all of the things she said. "Damon 'abused' Caroline?"

Elena looked a little confused and amused that it was the only thing I caught out of the explanation. "Well, he used her as his blood bag, girlfriend—if you know what I mean—and then he compelled her to forget it and not tell anyone. I was so angry at him and so was Caroline when the compulsion wore off, but I forgave him. I don't know if Caroline has."

I still didn't like Caroline for what she did to Carly, but I did get how she was feeling. To be taken advantage of sucks. It just sucks. "Elena, I'm sorry about your shitty life. I now know how much it sucks to lose someone. You of all people don't deserve to know that pain."

She smiled at me. "You don't either. Now tell me, you just saw your sister standing there?"

"Yeah, it was weird. All she said was that she was dead and then she disappeared. Does that happen often here?"

Elena shook her head. "Only people who have died and then come back can see ghosts."

I thought for a second before responding, "Well I have died and then come back decades later, so maybe…? I don't know. I don't remember anything from 'The Other Side.' And do my deaths even count since I was made like this?"

"Oh, god…"

"What?"

"What if you were born this way?" Elena asked. "I know that vampires were created by a witch, but werewolves and witches are born. What if you were born this way?"

I agreed with her. I'd really be something else then. "Man, I was a freak before and now I'm even more of a freak." Elena laughed. "So what does it feel like to be compared to Katherine?"

She looked annoyed. "I hate her. She's nothing like me. At first it was weird, especially since I looked at a picture and it was my face, but now it's just insulting. I don't want to be anything like her. She's a horrible person. She hurt Stefan and Damon and then she hurt me. All she's doing is looking out for herself."

"I know how you feel. Damon was saying how I looked like past Lana so much and I was annoyed with it. I can't remember a single thing about my past lives, so I'd much rather not be reminded of my unlucky amnesia."

Elena nodded sympathetically. "You know, Bonnie might have a spell for that. Like a memory spell. I could ask her…?"

I chirped, "Thank you! Oh, my god, what wonders that would do for me. You don't know how much it sucks for people to say how much they love you or hug you and you don't even remember them. And the doctors said I was a freak because I could remember my name and nothing else." I decided not to tell her about remembering the name _Silas _just because I wanted to know who he was before I told them. I planned on doing some research on him.

We continued our conversation, about random topics, much like how my conversation with Rebekah went. I realized that Elena was a much better person than Carly described her as. She was popular, but she was also caring and funny. Elena was pretty much an angel in disguise. I didn't know how Carly hated her, but it explained why Dana didn't.

My phone buzzed from an Instagram notification and Elena looked at her phone too. Her eyes widened at the time. "Oh, gosh! I have to go. Sorry," she apologized, jumping off my bed. I figured it wouldn't last long. Just as she reached the door, she turned around, "Would you like to come?"

"Where are we going?" I asked softly.

Elena replied, "I'm going to help set up with the Night of Illuminations in the park."

"Sure, I need something to distract me anyway." She smiled. "You can wait downstairs for me to get ready or you can just head there yourself and I'll catch up with you."

"I'm meeting Alaric and Jeremy," she told me, "Can I meet up with you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sure." She chirped a 'thank you' and ran out of my house. I laughed at her. As I sighed, I got up from my bed and looked for something to wear in my closet. After picking out the outfit, I hopped in the shower, brushed my teeth and then got dressed. I kept my big nerd glasses with a blue deep V-neck tank top with high-waisted jean shorts and deep red Vans. Just because I was feeling a little happy from my conversation with Elena, I added a gold _Love _ring, which required two fingers. I didn't even bother looking at my refection before I walked off with my phone and wallet. I put my big, long curly hair in a ponytail as I walked out the door. I didn't make it to my car because a familiar British hybrid was standing in my way. I sighed.

"Hello, love," Klaus greeted sweetly.

I asked monotone, "What do you want?"

"I came to pick you up."

"I thought you left. Decide you're just too evil to let us live in peace?" Klaus took a step towards me. I knew it was supposed to be romantic, but feelings for Dana just came up again. "Please, don't touch me." He looked hurt by this statement, but he didn't take a step back.

He began, "Lana, I know you aren't happy with me, but you used to love me. You don't remember, that's all."

I scoffed. "What? Are you here to make me love you again?" He actually nodded and my jaw dropped. "Wait, so you think that spending one day with you will make me realize you're not the total asshole who ruined Elena's life and took Stefan's freedom? Not to mention indirectly killed my best friend."

"I just wish you would remember," he begged. "The Lana I knew would give me a chance?"

"Well, the Lana you knew died a long time ago," I snapped harshly. The expression on his face made me regret how unforgiving I was with him. "I'm sorry. I can tell how much you loved _her. _But I'm not her anymore. You hurt my friend, you hurt Elena, abandoned Rebekah, daggered your family, and you took away Stefan's emotions, all for your personal gain. You don't want to be alone? Try not acting like a dick. See where that'll get you."

I was never this harsh with anyone, but Klaus made me so angry. "Lana, I know that you have no reason to even give me a chance, but I'm asking you please… Come with me. I want to show you I'm not such a bad person."

Every part of me wanted to take the hand he extended to me. Not because I wanted to be with him or anything, but I just wanted to know there was something good about him that everyone overlooked. One thing to go on the pros for the 'Pros and Cons' of Klaus Mikaelson. But I had to remind myself what he had done to Elena and everyone else. Not to mention the countless others. He was a horrible person. And I also had to meet Elena at the little park thing.

"Klaus, I don't know. I told Elena that I was going to meet her," I said truthfully.

"Well then, just tell her that you're busy with other plans," he made up.

"What other plans? I have no other friends!"

"What about your aunt? You could be with her…?" I stared at Klaus with wide eyes. He really wanted to be with me, didn't he? We must really have had something going on back then. I reluctantly took out my phone and pressed Elena's number.

When she didn't pick up, I left her a voicemail. "Hi, Elena. I'm actually doing something with my aunt today. I guess I'll have to catch up with you later. Don't worry when I don't meet you there, I'll see you later. Lana."

When I hung up, Klaus was smiling widely. Instead of taking his hand, I just walked past him to the car that I had to assume was his. "Where are we even going?" I asked as I got in his car. I waited for him to get in the car (2 second wait) and start driving before I put on my seatbelt.

"I want to show you something at my current house," he told me. "I think you'll like it."

I was silent for a while until I found a question. "Who made you this way?"

Klaus's features darkened. "Lana…" he warned.

"Klaus, if you want me to trust you, you have to trust me. I know that someone hurt you and made you so…Klaus and I just want to know who that is."

He didn't say anything for a long time. I started to think I crossed the line, but finally he answered, "My father. He hated me. As a child, he was harsher with me than my siblings. When he found out I wasn't his son, he hated me even more. He wants me dead. Rebekah and I've been running from him for a while. And Damon knows."

I was surprised. Damon knew that Klaus was running from his father. "Is that how you're a hybrid? Because your mother cheated and your real father was a werewolf?"

"Yes," he quietly replied.

"What did your father do?"

"Mikael, he… He was always harsh, glared at me. Made me do things my siblings didn't. Despised everything I did. I grew up with a father who wanted to see me suffer." My heart broke. I saw the expression on his face, and I knew that Klaus was beyond broken when it came to his past. "He thought I was weak. He thought I was a 'fuck-up' and that I didn't deserve anything. I…"

"Klaus, you don't need to continue if you don't want to," I said softly. I thought I saw a tear fall down from his eye, but I must have been delusional. Klaus wouldn't cry. Not in front of me at least. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. I get why you wanted to be a hybrid. To show him that you're not worthless. I just wish that there was an easier way to break the curse."

He looked over at me with curious eyes. "You understand?"

"Yes. I mean, I'll never know how you feel directly, but I know what it feels like to be broken. You wanted to prove that you're strong, and you are. You wanted to break the curse and not be afraid of him anymore. Did it work?"

Klaus scoffed. "Truthfully, no. When that imbecile Damon mention Mikael, I didn't feel any stronger. I felt weaker. Even at his name I trembled."

"Other vampires tremble at your name," I reassured him. "You're powerful and strong. Klaus, I don't think what you did to my friends is right, but with people these days, it's better to be feared than loved."

At the light, he looked at me. "Lana, you said that before," he told me. "When I first explained to you, you said, 'It's better to be feared than to be loved.' I learned that from you."

I guiltily looked down at my hands. That saying had always been in my mind. I was never the person to act upon it, but if I really had to make a choice, I'd rather be loved. Fear wasn't something I'd love to do. But in Klaus's case, if my father wanted to kill me too, I'd rather be feared. Sometimes love didn't always cut it.

"Shitty world, shitty people, shitty life. But Klaus, you've got to have some people. And creating hybrids isn't the way to go. Your family loves you, no matter what. I bet Mikael even felt a little love when he first saw you as a baby. And no matter what he says, there's always a little love. How could there not be? But forget Mikael because you have Rebekah and your other siblings. If you want, I'll even be your friends. I might forgive you for killing Dana. But only if you give up trying to make hybrids with Elena's blood. She still has a life. You can't take that away from her. She's not afraid of you, but she's afraid you'll hurt the ones she loves if she doesn't comply to your demands. Don't make her feel the way Mikael made you feel."

"The hybrids aren't for loneliness," Klaus corrected, gripping the steering hard. "I'm building an army."

I encouraged, "Why build an army? You're invincible Klaus. You can protect yourself and your siblings. Mikael ain't got shit on you. You are better than him. He can die, you can't. Show Mikael what a pussy he is compared to you, Klaus! You are better than he will ever be. Last time I checked, he's a 1000 year old Original vampire. You're a 1000 Original vampire _and _Original hybrid. That bitch ain't got shit."

Klaus smiled at me. "You have such a good heart. You are simply amazing."

"Hell yeah, I am," I agreed, making him laugh. "So are you. Just drop the asshole act, stop using Elena, and just be with your family. Make some friends and maybe you'll even win me over. You can't keep being afraid of Mikael if you're better."

Klaus sighed. "All I wanted was a father who loved me…"

"Instead you get four siblings who love you, a hybrid who's thankful and girl that might just give you a chance. That can't replace your missing good father, but at least it can help you move on. Klaus, please get over him. Mikael isn't worth your time if he's just going to hate you," I coaxed. Klaus still didn't look convinced. I knew that it would take more than just one conversation, but if anything, he looked more depressed. I sighed, leaned back in my seat and dropped the conversation. "So what are you showing me?"

Klaus didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve anything from me. He was horrible, scared people and killed them. But my heart just hurt so much for him and I couldn't help but want to make him feel better. I didn't believe in anyone feeling bad about themselves. I just hated that. Though my saying 'Better to be feared than loved' was still there, happiness was the best. Klaus deserved to be happy because he had a shitty childhood.

"I'm just taking you to see something that was made almost 400 years ago."

I nodded. "So what kind of music do you listen to?" I wasn't the best with conversation, but I wanted nothing to be awkward between us.

"Music? None really…"

I gasped. Music was my life. I hadn't been listening to it recently because…well I don't know, but I loved music. It was the thing that kept me sane when I had dark days (along with Cara). Klaus was on this earth for 1000 years and he didn't bother listening to music? That was a crime right there. I wasn't sure I could be friends with someone who didn't listen to music daily.

"Honey, you are missing out," I said. My hand shot out to turn on the radio and _Wrecking Ball _came on. "See, Klaus, this is Miley Cyrus. Her priorities are all fucked up, but she can make some good music. Just listen to the voice and never look her up. You'll get a screen full of a twerking butt and weird tongue movements. Don't look her up." Klaus smiled, amused. "She just recently broke up with her boyfriend and then she made this song. The music video is her swinging on a wrecking ball, literally, naked. And there are some scenes when she's licking a hammer."

"What is wrong with her?" he asked bewildered.

I shrugged. "Heartbreak can really fuck someone up."

"I was hurt… When you died, I didn't know what to do," Klaus told me. Usually I felt awkward when they talked about my past self and I tried to avoid the topic, but hearing the pain in his voice made me interested. "I killed a lot of girls. I searched for someone like you. I never forgot about _my Angel _but I did try to move on."

"Were you successful?"

"No." I didn't know what to say after that. I just felt so bad that 1664 Lana had to leave Klaus. Rebekah made it sound like he was such a good person when I was with them.

I inquired softly, "How did we meet?"

He smiled genuinely. "I remember that day perfectly. You were a hand maid to Lady…what was her name? Lady Anabella? Something like that. When I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful thing. You had your beautiful brown hair in a bun, two strands fallen out on each side. Your eyes sparkled when they saw my face and your lips… Beautiful." I felt a warm feeling in my cheeks, and if I had lighter skin, it'd probably be a blush. Hearing Klaus talk about me like that just made me feel so good about myself. Klaus, this attractive hybrid, thought that I was beautiful. "I thought you were an angel. The light that day was shining so perfectly behind you… I made Lady Anabella leave us and go back home, but you stayed. You were my mistress."

My eyes widened. "Did we…?"

He chuckled. "Not at first. You wanted to take it slow and I would do anything for you. I discovered you were more than just beautiful, you were remarkable. When you found out my true nature, you didn't cower away, you were intrigued. It was very interesting. The first time I showed my face to you was our first kiss. You saw the veins, the eyes and the fangs, but you decided to look past them. And you kissed me. It was a soft, sweet kiss. I guess you could say it was love at first kiss.

"You and Rebekah got on just fine. Best friends, she called it. When we weren't together, it was you and Rebekah, always causing trouble. She saw you as a sister and I saw you as my love. Every night you'd say, 'Klaus, my love, this is forever.' I'd say back, '_Angel, _forever isn't enough.' We'd share a kiss and sometimes just stare into each other's eyes."

I smiled. "We sound disgustingly in love," I joked sarcastically, making him laugh. "Were we strong believers in PDA? Public display of affection?"

"Oh, very strong believers," he confirmed. I scrunched my nose up. I was a hypocrite. I hated it when couples would flaunt their love off right in front of me, but I did it before. "I in fact believe we started the whole thing. At dinners, we'd stare in our eyes. I would get caught up in your beauty. You loved to hold hands, so that's what we did. And nearly kissed every other minute."

"Oh, god," I giggled. "We sound like fucking Edward and Bella."

"Speaking of those two, why do vampires sparkle?" Klaus asked. "That's not at all what happens. We burn."

"I know," I agreed, "it's completely outrageous. But Stephanie Meyer thought that sparkling in the sun would be cooler."

"Edward is ugly, by the way. Bella looks like a fish with her mouth open all the time. And she should have picked Jacob. Edward always sounds like he's on the toilet."

I laughed loudly at Klaus's opinions. "Oh, someone's judge-y. I have to agree, Jacob was the better choice."

Our conversation continued on Twilight, then other vampires and then back to our love. It was very enlightening: Klaus did have a soft side. I especially loved when he'd look at me with admiration or love. I just couldn't get over him. He made me smile with every word. I assumed this was the side I fell in love with before.

After a while, we pulled up to a house. It was a big house. Maybe just as big as the Salvatore house. It wasn't colorful; black house, white outlining. I happened to like the Victorian style it had going on. But it didn't look like the kind of house Klaus would have. I got out slowly, staring at the house. "Nice," I commented.

"Thank you, _Angel._"

"So what did I call you? What was your nickname?"

He answered, "You called me _Niks. _It was different from what Rebekah called me or what I liked to be called. Overtime I found it cute."

I was in awe for a second before replying, "Funny. That's what I call my Aunt Nikki."

My phone suddenly rang. I nervously smiled at Klaus and checked the caller. It was Damon, so I ignored it. Well, it wasn't like I was angry with Damon, I would have ignored anyone else's call. I agreed to give Klaus a day and that was exactly what I was going to do. He was doing good so far.

"Damon," I told Klaus and he rolled his eyes. I figured that Klaus wouldn't like Damon, especially since he was also my lover. That would be an awkward talk if I had both of them in a room to talk about the _love situation._

I followed him into the house quietly. "This is not the only place I want to go," he said, "but I want to show you something."

I followed him down a hallway to a dark room. As soon as Klaus turned on the lights, my jaw dropped. It looked like a studio with many paintings, people, animals, plants, with colors and canvases. But the thing that caught my eyes was a giant portrait on an easel of me in a long, beautiful dress. My hair was up in a bun, there was a flower in my hair, I was lying across a bed, and the white dress was simply beautiful. It was white, had a corset but it was tight around the legs. My feet were bare without any heels, my hands had long white gloves that went to my elbows and my lips had kind of a cherry color. I was beautiful.

"Klaus…" I gasped. I looked up at his face and he was admiring the picture just as much as I was. "When was that made?"

"1666. You wanted to show your new dress to generations later, so you had me paint this. You had the dress specially made. You hated corset skirts, so you requested a dress without one," Klaus explained. "It was supposed to be your wedding dress."

My eyes widened. "We were going to get married?"

He nodded sadly. "It was only a week away before you died."

I looked back at the picture. It was truly amazing. I didn't know what I looked like in person, but the painting was so detailed and beautiful. "Klaus, this is marvelous. You are a great artist…so great… I'm sorry that I died before we got married. I'm sure it would have been a great wedding."

"That it would have been."

I saw the sadness in his eyes. "Is there a carnival in town?"

Klaus thought for a second. "Actually, I think there is."

"Then let's go. You can win me something."

* * *

When we arrived at my house, I was depressed. Klaus gave me a really happy day, and I realized he wasn't the total asshole he showed everyone he was. Klaus could be sweet, funny, caring, and a great listener. He listened to my problems and gave me some good advice. He showed me the side of him that would definitely make a girl fall in love with him.

"Thank you for today," I said to him when the car stopped. "I really enjoyed it. I still haven't really forgiven you for Dana's death, but I'm starting to like you, Niklaus Mikaelson."

He smiled. "Thank you for giving me a chance. I knew you wouldn't regret it."

I opened the door, but before I got out, I said, "I want that portrait of me, though. You're a really great artist and I expect another one."

"Of course," he agreed. "Bye, _Angel._"

"Bye, _Niks._" I felt like I was betraying Aunt Nikki by calling Klaus the nickname I gave her, but it was originally his. Once I got to my door, Klaus drove off and I was alone with a big teddy bear and a new ring. He won me the teddy bear at the carnival and gave me the ring as a gift. It was a silver band with a gold _Infinity _sign on it. He said it represented the infinite love he had for me. Cheesy and cliché, but my heart clenched at his words. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me. So cute! I was so glad to have given Klaus a chance.

I went to my room to set down the teddy bear and finally turned on my phone. I saw that Elena, Damon and Bonnie were blowing up my messages and voicemail. I checked Elena's messages first, naturally and saw that she was at the City Jail. She told me that Lexi had come back, whoever that was, and she was helping Stefan. I checked Damon's, who said that Mason Lockwood was back and he was showing him a way to kill Klaus. My heart clenched at that too, but not in the good way. I didn't want Klaus to die. He was just starting to get on my good side. And last, Bonnie was telling me how we needed to find Elena's necklace because door to The Other Side was open. I didn't know what that meant, but she said it had something do with ghosts.

My mind wandered back to my dead sister. Klaus was so good about distracting me from my current pain, I forgot all about my dead sister. Tears threatened to fall, but I pushed them back. I decided to go to Elena first since she was closer to me and I wanted to meet this Lexi character. Grabbing my eyes and hopping in my car, I called Bonnie.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Where have you been?" she asked me. Bonnie and I weren't close, at all, but we decided to exchange numbers just in case.

"I've been with my aunt all day," I lied smoothly. "What happened?"

"Ghosts are coming back from The Other Side. They aren't supposed to be able to touch us, but they can," she explained. "Caroline and I looking for Elena's necklace because it has the power to shut the door that's been opened."

"Did you talk to Elena or Damon?" I asked.

"Yeah, we can't reach Damon."

"Katherine," I quickly replied. "She's always behind something like this. If you want the necklace, you need Katherine. Or just call Damon again."

Bonnie mumbled something along the lines of 'okay.' I could tell that something was wrong. She didn't have her usual determined tone. "What's wrong?" I asked suddenly.

"Jeremy was kissing his ex-girlfriend," she cried into the phone. I suddenly remembered that both of his ex-girlfriends were dead. It would make sense because Bonnie explained that the door to The Other Side was open.

"Bonnie, I'm sorry," I apologized. "We need to close that door before anything else happens. I mean, I can't blame him for thinking about her or seeing her because she died abruptly, but kissing her? That was stupid. Anyone who would let you go is a fool, Bons."

I could hear her smile through the phone. "Thanks, Lana. Have you called Damon?"

"Not yet, but I'm planning to. He said that he's with Mason Lockwood?"

"Okay, thanks."

"Stay strong, Bonnie. We'll figure it all out," I said before saying goodbye. As soon as I hung up the phone, I opened the jail door. It was deserted because of the Night of Illuminations in the park tonight. I checked back at Elena's texts, telling me she was in the basement. Something told me not to call out. As I got closer to the door that led downstairs, I assumed, I heard screaming. Male screaming. As quietly as I could, I scrambled down the swirling staircase to open a door. Inside was Elena standing with a blonde woman and Stefan tied to a chair. It was his screams. "Stefan!" I gasped running to him, about to untie him, but Elena's voice stopped me.

"No! Don't!" she yelled, stopping me cold. "We have to do this. Lexi is helping him."

"Helping him?" I questioned. "He's tied up to a chair screaming."

"We're detoxing him of blood," the blonde woman answered. "It'll work. I've done this before. I'm Lexi, by the way."

She held out her hand for me to take. "Lana," I introduced back. I wasn't crazy about torturing Stefan to get him better, but if was to get him better…I guessed I could tolerate it.

"Lana, please help me," Stefan begged, catching my attention. "I'll change. I'll do anything. I'm sorry. Please help me."

"Don't listen to him," Lexi warned, "he'll say anything."

"But…"

"Please, Lana! Help me!"

"Stefan, I'm sorry," I said. "I can't help you."

He then turned to Elena. "Elena, I love you, okay? I love you so much."

Elena took a step closer to him. "Stefan, I just don't believe you." Stefan's expression went from sadness to anger in less than a second. He started fighting against the chains.

"I didn't even want your help anyway. I wish I never met you," he barked. "Every moment I spent with you has been a complete and total waste."

Elena looked like she was just hit with a brick. So confused and so hurt. "See, that's the Ripper talking," Lexi explained. "Once he's weak enough, you have to cause pain. Make him feel things. Anger, rage, love, anything. You have to make him see past the blood."

Just as she shoved it in his chest was when I noticed Lexi had a stake. She pulled it out, making him scream louder. As she was about to shove it in his chest again, he yelled, "I will rip you apart Lexi."

Her reply, "Can't. I'm already dead." Then she shoved it back in his chest. I didn't want to watch, so I left. Elena was right behind me as we went outside to take a breather. That's when I noticed the police sirens and the flashing lights. When I arrived, there weren't any but suddenly they all were there.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know," Elena replied and she walked towards the scene while I stayed near the jail. I went to my car to call someone and just as I got in, my sister appeared. She was wearing a dark blue tank top with a black leather jacket that stopped at her chest. She had her usual dark make-up on and her hair was up. She looked like the girl I saw before she left.

"Zoey…" I breathed and I went to hug her. The tears just came so fast, I didn't know what was wet on my cheeks at first.

"Hey, I'm here," she said back. "I'm here. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I never should have left."

"I didn't remember you, I'm sorry," I apologized. "But you had no right to leave me. I was alone. If we were as good of sisters as you said, then you would have stayed. But you didn't! Why? I needed someone?"

She sobbed, "I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Lana, I'm so sorry. But most of all, I'm sorry I died before I could come back and apologize in real life."

We finally pulled away and looked at each other. She was crying just as much as I was. She was just as beautiful as I remembered. "Zoey, how did it happen?"

She wiped away a tear falling. "I…I was running with these guys," she began. "I thought they were cool, turns out they were just feeding from me. Vampires. Much like your friend Stefan. Eventually, as they kept feeding me their blood, I accidentally died. Then I had to go through transition and all that. There was this guy, I don't know who he was, but he fed from us. All of us. Vampires. A vampire fed from a vampire. It was so weird. Some of us died, some of us lived. I got away before he could rip out my heart, but he found me. He found me, fed on me, and then killed me. I don't know who he is, but you need to tell your friends to watch out."

I shook my head. "That doesn't make sense. Vampires only feed on humans, not other vampires."

"I don't know, really. But you need to watch out," Zoey warned. She smiled at me. "Oh, sister, you've gotten so beautiful. God, I love you so much and I'm sorry that I left." I was arguing with myself whether I should have told her that I wasn't really her sister, but then I decided that'd be too much. She died, she died again and this was her first time seeing me in a long time. There was no need to ruin it for her.

"Zoey, did you find any happiness? Did you find a guy?" I asked, winking. She laughed and the tears stopped. I needed to cram in as much time as I could before she'd disappear. Bonnie was working on getting that necklace and with their luck, they _were _going to find it. I didn't remember Zoey at all, but I was hurt by her sudden leave. This was my time to get to know her.

"I did," she confirmed. "He's really nice and amazing. I'm glad that he got away from the vampire. I've seen him, he's heartbroken, but he'll get over me. He has to get over me. And so do you. Move on with your life. You barely remember me, but I saw how hurt you were. Elena, your friend, she's right. I guess you can never get over me, but you can move on."

The tears welled up in my eyes again. "I don't remember a single thing about you."

This made her feel bad again. "Well, my favorite color's yellow, surprisingly, I secretly love One Direction and sometimes I twerk in the mirror. I love to cook and paint, Harry Potter is my favorite book series and I love my sister no matter how it much it seems that I don't. I regret ever leaving her in the bad time that I did, and I would go back if I could."

I smiled and said, "Well, your sister says that she forgives you and that she loves you too. Harry Potter is her favorite book series and she thinks Niall Horan from One Direction is cute. She loves to look at art, but she can't do it. Cooking is something she loves, though she's not the best. Her favorite color is icy blue."

"Channing Tatum."

"Bradley Cooper."

"Brittney Spears."

"Ariana Grande."

"The Ready Set."

"Maroon 5."

"Person I love most: my sister."

"Person _I _ love most: _my _sister," I said back. She hugged me again. My phone beeped.

Bonnie:

_I got the necklace. Turns out Anna had it._

I groaned and more tears fell. "You don't have much time," I told her. "So let's just get this out: What do you want for your birthday? And where are you buried?"

"You remembered…" I heard her whisper. She stared at me before quickly saying, "I wanted to learn how to control the bloodlust, but since that's not tangible, I want a rose from my sister. Just so I know that she loves me. And my body's in Texas. James, my love, buried me in an unmarked grave."

I sighed. I couldn't bring that rose to her grave, but I could make a new one. "In Aunt Nikki's backyard will be your rose. I promise, Sissy."

"You always used to call me that. Even when you turned 13. I love you, Lana, and I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing already," I said. Just as I was going to say those three words everyone wanted to hear, Zoey disappeared. The moment couldn't be more cliché or heartbreaking. She was gone from the seat, probably to The Other Side and I didn't get to say 'I love you,' one last time. I cried again. I didn't cry for long because I wanted to go get her that rose. I figured that the stores would be closed, but there was a little flower shop that was still opened, almost like it was just for me.

I got out of my car, tears still falling silently and I picked out a yellow rose, for Zoey's favorite color and our friendship. When I asked for it, the woman said, "Is it for someone special? The Night of Illuminations wasn't exactly cheerful."

"Yes, this is for someone special. Someone I will miss dearly," I replied and she gave me the rose. I paid the $8 it cost and walked out back to my car. Once I arrived at my house, instead of going to the backyard first, I found a piece of cardboard and wrote on it, _Here lies my sister, my best friend, and my sun. Maybe she rest in peace._

Then I went to the backyard, stuck the cardboard in the ground and put the flower next to it. I decided then that I would make a garden dedicated to my sister. She left me, sure, but she regretted it. As mean as it sounded, that's all I wanted. For her to regret leaving me and to hear that she loved me. And she did.

Damon called me, but once again I ignored it. I went to my room, changed into a tank top and pajamas and just lay in my bed. At one point I heard Aunt Nikki come home and do something but I put in my headphones and listened to The Ready Set. They actually weren't bad. At one point I fell asleep peacefully. Just listening to music and imagining my sister beside me. It was peaceful.


	8. Chapter 8

**Short chapter, I know, but here you go. Thank you for the follows and support. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**2011, Mystic Falls**

I woke up to the sound of my ringing phone. I quickly found it under covers and saw that Damon was calling once again. "Hello?" I said groggily.

"Oh, so now you answer my calls," Damon snapped.

"I've been busy," I replied with my eyes now closed. "What's up, Salvatore?"

"We found something. Something about Papa Original," Damon informed, suddenly waking me up. Something about Klaus's dad? I wanted to stake that bastard over and over again for what he did to Klaus.

"Good, I want to know everything about Mikael," I replied angrily.

Damon was silent for a second. "How do you know that Mikael was their father?"

My eyes widened at my mistake. They didn't know I was with Klaus, and I didn't plan on telling them. What they didn't know didn't hurt them. "You know what, you're breaking up. I'm going to have to call you back." Damon started to say something but I hung up before he could finish what he wanted to say.

Quickly, I ran to the shower, brushed my teeth and tamed my hair. It was a good hair day, so it hung loosely, stopping just below my chest, curls as beautiful as ever. I added a little lip gloss and decided I was good with that. My clothing consisted of a ruffled, sheer purple crop top with high waisted jeans that went over my belly button and knee high sneakers over the jeans. Along with Klaus's ring, I put on another ring that required two fingers.

I nodded at my refection, grabbed my phone, bag and walked out the door. Aunt Nikki was watching something in the living room while eating cereal. I tried to get out the door as quietly as I could but she caught me. "Corlana!" Nikki called, by my full name. I hated my name. It sounded like _core-lana. _It was unusual and stupid. My parents were obviously trying to pick between Coral and Lana. I turned around slowly to face the wrath of Nickola Rivers. "Why didn't I see you yesterday?"

"I was with my friends," I lied again, smoothly. She looked at me for a long time and I was afraid that she figured out I was lying, but then she nodded slowly. "I'm just going to school, don't get your panties in a twist."

"Whatever… Hey, have you seen your friend Dana?" My heart was hit by a sharp pain. She was dead. And I was wearing the ring her killer gave me. I started to think about how bad I was. Dana didn't deserve to die, especially not at the hands (fangs) of a vampire. Klaus was the reason she was dead, but that didn't stop me from riding off with him into the sunset. My thoughts were all over the place until Aunt Nikki broke me out of my thoughts by repeating her question.

I put on a confused face and lied, "Actually, I was just thinking where she is. I haven't seen her in a while. I don't know where she is."

"Are you just covering for her?"

I shook my head. "No, I really don't know where she is." Nikki took the lie easily and dismissed me off to school. I faked a smile before walking out the door and getting in my car. As I started up the car, I blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. I already had the problem of my sister's death, I didn't need to think about Dana's death either. Both died because of vampires… That should have spoken to me. Maybe I needed to stay away from vampires.

Waving off the thought, I texted Elena for the place they were at. She texted back Alaric's apartment and I drove there. It was a nice apartment complex, but I was confused why he didn't actually have a house.

Damon opened the door before I could even knock. "Hello," he greeted sweetly. I smiled at him, making his expression soften. "So what do you know about Mikael?"

I sighed and walked past Damon into the apartment. Elena and Ric were hovering over pictures on a table. They both looked like they were studying the pictures very carefully. "Okay, you wanna know how I know about Mikael? Rebekah. She told me a few things, but if you want to know the full story, you have to go to the source directly."

Damon looked like he agreed with me. "She's right. We need to go to Barbie Klaus."

"Well, I'm headed to school anyway, so let's go." As she grabbed her bag, I took a peek at the pictures she and Ric were looking at. They were drawings that looked like they were created by a rock on a cave wall. "Damon found them, technically. They're Viking script, names of the Original family. Mikael's a part of it."

I nodded. I planned on taking a look at them later. "Okay, let's go." I followed Elena out the door, winking at Damon and smiling at Ric. She had her own car so we decided we'd just meet up at school. The drive wasn't very interesting, but I was happy to know that I had beaten Elena to the school, just because I was a nerd like that.

Elena and I found Rebekah with the other cheerleaders working out. Rebekah broke out into hand springs and back flips all the way to us walking towards her. When she saw Elena, she frowned. "You. Great." Then her head turned towards me and she smiled. I smiled back genuinely happy to see her making other friends with the cheerleaders.

"Hi, Beks," I greeted nicely.

"I was hoping we could talk," Elena said before Rebekah could reply to me.

"What? About Stefan? Don't worry, I'm off him until he starts treating me better," Rebekah responded. "In fact, if we're being honest, you should take a page out of my book."

Elena pulled out a picture out of her back. "Let's talk about this." It was the picture of her name written in Viking script. Rebekah looked surprised but also annoyed at the picture. "I'm curious why you and Klaus have spent years running from your father."

"I have to get back to the girls," Rebekah retorted.

As Rebekah turned away, Elena called out, "Then maybe I'll ask Mikael when we wake him." I felt just as alarmed as Rebekah did. I knew that they were searching for Mikael, I just didn't assume that they were going to wake him. If Rebekah and Klaus were shaking in their shoes when it came to Mikael, then we should've been shitting in our pants at the thought of waking him. There was probably a reason that they were so afraid of Mikael. I knew that Klaus had a bad experience with Mikael, but if he was still running from him after all these years, then we had something to be afraid about.

"You're bluffing," Rebekah scoffed. "You don't know where he is."

Elena shot back, "So who's rotting in that coffin in Charlotte?"

"Rebekah," I cut in after Elena and Rebekah had an intense show down. "We just want to know, why don't you want us to wake him?"

"If you wake Mikael, we're all doomed."

"Why?"

This time she didn't answer. "I have to get back to the girls."

Once Rebekah was far enough, I took Elena's arm and dragged her back. "What was that? That was so rude."

"We need answers," Elena replied. "I'm not afraid to get my hands a little dirty."

"Elena, you know what? Leave the interrogating to me. We could have gotten a lot farther if you weren't so straight forward," I scolded. "Sometimes you gotta beat around the bush." Elena rolled her eyes. "You go and find out more, I have something I need to do."

Elena nodded. "Okay, do you need help?"

"No, I don't. I'm fine." I left Elena staring at me to go into the school and to the library. I found that it was mainly empty except for a few nerds. I sat down at the computer and logged on to get to the internet. I figured that I could find something on Mikael. Not many people knew about vampires and werewolves, but people like Slater did. I remembered Damon told me that his friend Rose had a friend Slater who knew a lot of things about the vampire world.

I searched Mikael, but all I got was a few hits on Michael Jackson. I searched 'Mikael Vampire' but there was still nothing. After a few different searches with 'Original vampires,' 'Original vampire hunter,' and 'Original Mikael,' I gave up. I obviously needed Jesus to help me with the whole situation.

Then another thing came to mind. _Silas. _I was some kind of supernatural creature that came alive decades later after death. Each time I would only remember two names: mine and the name _Silas. _It had to be connected somehow, right? I looked up 'Silas' but all I got was a Greek dude who was the leader of some kind of Christian cult. As a looked a little farther, there was a Silas attached with names 'Qetsiyah and Amara.' I didn't know why, but when I saw the Greek format of their names, something instantly clicked in my brain.

I clicked on the page and I saw a lot of tiny words, describing the story of Qetsiyah, Silas and Amara. It basically was saying how Amara was Qetsiyah's handmaiden and Silas was engaged to her. But what Qetsiyah didn't know was that Amara and Silas had some kind of thing going on. When Silas and Qetsiyah were done with this Immortality elixir, with the help of Qetsiyah's apprentice, Silas drank it with Amara instead of Qetsiyah. With this betrayal, Qetsiyah killed or faked Amara's death, leaving Silas alone. As asked, her apprentice made a cure of the Immortality and helped Qetsiyah imprison Silas with the Cure, leaving him a choice of drinking the elixir and joining Qetsiyah on the Other Side or living an immortal life without his true love. Much to Qetsiyah's dismay, Silas chose to stay Immortal with the Cure.

I got a little insight on Silas and his story, but it still didn't explain my supernatural abilities or my connection with Stefan. I knew that I had to tell him right away, but I was so curious. I looked up their story a little more and got a name: Atticus Shane. I planned on calling him and asking him more about the story. I was sidetracked by my sudden interest in the Greek language. It came naturally to me like there was no problem with the language. I didn't know Spanish or French or any other language for that matter, but somehow Greek came to me so easily. Almost like I was familiar with it.

When I finally broke out of my Greek trance, it was only because of Rebekah's call, I realized it was nighttime and the school would be closing soon. I answered, "Rebekah, what do you need?"

"Oh, god, Lana," she sobbed into the phone. "I need you to come over, now. I really need you to come over…"

Concern instantly bloomed in my heart. "Rebekah, what's wrong?"

"He killed her," she answered vaguely. "He killed my mother."

I didn't know what she was talking about, but I quickly got up from my spot after logging off. "Rebekah, what happened? What are you talking about?" I requested softly, yet urgently as I sped walked to my car.

"He killed her, Lana. And he lied to me about it."

"Rebekah, I'm coming," I assured her. "I'll be there in a minute." Even though I didn't want to, I hung up the phone and sped towards the Salvatore house. Elena told me something about her staying there with the Salvatores.

Just as I pulled up, I got a text from Damon.

_We have Mikael._

My heart almost stopped. I stared at the phone for a few seconds before cussing continuously. When we talked to Rebekah before, she looked so scared when Elena brought up Mikael. I thought that Mikael was only a horrible father to Klaus, but that was obviously not the case. If they got Mikael, that meant that Klaus was in danger, and so was Rebekah. I didn't know where their other siblings were, but I hoped that they stayed away. If Mikael was a vampire hunter, and Rebekah was scared of him, then Mikael must have been hunting his family.

When the thought of Rebekah came back up in my mind, I scrambled out the car and into the house. I found Rebekah crying on the floor near the fireplace in the living room. I almost tripped running to her. She held out her arms for me and I took her in mine instead. Petting her hair, I repeated it was going to be okay.

"He killed her," she cried. "He killed my mother and he lied about it. To my face without a dull moment. Nik killed my mother and he lied to all my family about it."

This news struck me like lightning. I knew that Klaus wasn't exactly a fan of his parents, but I didn't think that he hated his mother so much that he would kill her and blame it on Mikael. I thought Mikael killed the Original Witch just like Rebekah, but apparently Klaus hated her so much that he pulled her heart out. I didn't know how cruel he could be. Sure, Klaus's mother wasn't the best to him, but she was also the mother of his siblings. How could he do that to them? Maybe he wasn't as good as I thought he was… Maybe he was the total monster Damon made him out to be. Klaus didn't care for his mother's life or Dana's.

"Rebekah, I'm so sorry," I apologized. "You don't deserve to be lied to. I'm sorry… I'm sorry."

We stayed like this until Stefan, Damon, Elena and who I guessed was Mikael walked through the door. Once I saw Mikael (who was actually kind of attractive), I instantly left Rebekah's side and went up to Mikael. "You're horrible," I barked.

He looked surprised. "Excuse me?"

"You bullied Niklaus, treated him horribly, turned him into a vampire and now you're out to kill him. What a fucking asshole." I made the bold move to slap Mikael right there. I think everyone was so shocked, not only by my rant, but by my actions.

Mikael didn't do anything. He just stared at my while touching his face. "And you are?"

"Lana Rivers," I answered angrily. "I'm the girl who your son is in love with."

"He's not my son," Mikael replied back calmly. "He's an abomination that needs to be killed."

I nodded my head. "I agree with you. He's not your son and he is an asshole, but as a child? He didn't need your bullshit. Esther fucked up, not Klaus. You didn't need to treat him like shit," I scolded. Mikael raised his brow.

"How do you know this?"

"Yeah, how do you know this?" Damon asked. My blood ran cold, but I knew I needed to fess up at one point.

"Remember when I told you that I was with my aunt? Yeah, well I lied. Klaus picked me up, we went somewhere together and he explained to me the asshole that was his father. Thank god Klaus isn't related to someone like you."

Mikael just smiled. "You've got the fire."

"Excuse me, what?" Damon asked, taking a step forward. "You went with Klaus?"

"Well, he said that he loved me," I lied again. "And then he threatened my aunt, so I kind of had no choice. But I agree with you. Let's kill the bastard. But Mikael, just know that you're an asshole and that's never going to change. Why did you even hate Klaus so much?"

Mikael hesitated. "Why do you want to know?"

"I want to apologize to Klaus for your shit behavior before you drive a stake through his heart," I answered. "And I want to know why you would treat him so badly. You didn't even know he wasn't your son at that time. Why would you hurt him like that?"

"I always knew something wasn't right with Niklaus. That he wasn't my son."

I scoffed. "Great intuition."

I left from Mikael to get a drink. "So how's this going down? Who's killing him and how are we getting him here?"

Everyone looked at me. I took a sip confused, but by the time I swallowed, I knew what they wanted. "Really? Me? He's not even going to believe me."

Stefan looked annoyed. "Well, he's in love with you, like you said. He'll come to your call."

I rolled my eyes. "Klaus is still a world-class asshole and he's not stupid. He's not just going to come here without a reason. I'm not a good enough reason. What? Give him a booty call?" Rebekah left the room in tears, probably to go freshen up. My heart ached for her.

"No," Elena replied. "Tell him that Mikael is dead. That he's daggered."

I shook my head. "Klaus isn't stupid. He's going to want proof. He's going to want to see Mikael's dead body."

"And that's precisely what he's going to get." Mikael pulled out a dagger and a bottle of something. I assumed it was white oak ash.

"Stefan should do this," I interrupted. "Klaus is going to be suspicious. At least he'll think that Stefan's compulsion will expose him."

"Yes, but he thinks that you sympathize with him," Mikael said.

I snapped back, "I do."

Mikael ignored my last comment. "He'll believe you."

"Fine, but keep Mikael daggered just in case Klaus wants to talk to Stefan." I put the drink down and get out my phone.

"Another vampire cannot dagger an Original so you need to dagger me." Mikael turned to Elena. Elena looked surprised.

She asked, "You want me to dagger you?"

"Where's the weapon?" Damon demanded.

Mikael smiled. "It's hidden where only I know. It's my insurance."

"For what?"

"For you. To make sure that you don't leave the dagger in my heart. You take this out of my heart, I get the weapon and kill Klaus."

"What is the weapon?" I asked.

"I happen to have a stake fashioned from white oak in my possession," Mikael responded.

I asked, "Are you sure that it'll work? He's a hybrid now. I don't want to fuck up with the weapon and then he's on all our asses. I just want the guy dead."

"It'll work. Now put this dagger through my heart," he said to Elena. She took the dagger slowly, staring at Mikael before pushing the dagger through his chest. Mikael gasped for breath at first, but then he just fell to the floor lifeless. Usually I would have felt bad seeing someone die, but I had no emotion for Mikael.

"What am I going to say?"

"Say that Mikael followed Elena here, tried to grab her and use her as bait," Stefan instructed.

"And you what? Vervained him?"

Damon scoffed. "No. _We _vervained him. Guy's an Original, be realistic."

"Okay, _we _vervained him," Stefan agreed, "and in the process discovered that he had a dagger on him."

Elena continued, "He planned to use it on Rebekah, but instead—"

"We drove it through is heart," Stefan finished. I nodded, taking another sip of my drink. Alcohol wasn't a problem. I loved the burn and I loved the way it made me feel.

"First, why didn't you tell us that you went with Klaus?" Damon demanded, walking closer to me.

"I knew you'd act this way," I replied callously. "Sorry if I didn't want to get lectured on who I can and cannot see."

"'See'? Lana, he's dangerous. He's tried to kill Elena! He has killed Elena!" Damon yelled. "Taken Stefan's freedom. Killed Dana."

My eyes widened. "Don't you dare bring Dana into this," I warned. "I know he killed countless people, but he loves me. He won't kill me."

"Love only goes so far," Damon scoffed.

"I have a question," I said putting the glass down. "If it came down to it, who would you save: Elena or me?"

Everyone was silent. Damon just stared at me with disbelief. I wanted to apologized, but I felt like I deserved this. When I didn't get a reply, I knew my answer. "You're right, love only goes so far."

I scrolled down the list and found Klaus's name. I put it up to my ear and listened to it ring. Klaus picked up with, "Hello, _Angel._"

"Mikael's dead," I replied.

Klaus was silent for a while. "What?"

"He's dead," I repeated. "Dagger in the chest."

Klaus demanded, "Let me speak to Stefan." I held the phone out for Stefan to take. Stefan started to talk on the phone, Rebekah appeared in the room and he handed it to her. As they talked, I realized that Rebekah really did want her brother dead. That was a shame because they were a good sibling pair.

My mind wandered to Stefan and Silas. I still didn't know who I was, so I decided that maybe I needed to keep some things to myself. Until I actually figured out what I was, I needed to just stay quiet. Although, Stefan could be some kind of help.

Rebekah handed back the phone to Stefan, as she thought it was his. "He believed it. He's coming back." She left the room with a sad expression on her face. Damon smirked.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Elena rolled her eyes at him. "Let's just get this over with." She kneeled down and pulled the dagger out of Mikael's heart.

"Well, I need to go home. My aunt is probably losing her shit right now," I said, grabbing my phone from Stefan. "Tell me how it goes."

"Wait, wait, you're a part of this too," Damon objected. "You can't just ditch."

"I'm guessing since I lied to you that you're not going to trust me with anything. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, okay? I just didn't know what to say. 'Hey, guys, by the way, Klaus picked me up and told me his life story. Then he bought me a ring and won me a teddy bear.' Did you really want me to tell you that?"

Damon looked angry. "He bought you a ring?" _Great, I just got myself into deeper shit._

"Yeah, but I threw it out," I lied. "He killed my best friend, threatened my aunt, terrorized you guys and killed countless others. Why would I keep a ring that he bought me?"

"Teddy bear?"

"Oh, hell no. I'm not throwing that out. Regardless if Klaus won it for me or not, I'm keeping that thing. It's a legit good teddy bear. It's cute."

Stefan stared at me, amused while Damon and Elena looked at me suspiciously. "I get it if you don't trust me," I admitted. "I just want Klaus dead as much as you do. So you guys create a plan, kill him, and then I'll be here waiting to hear that the bastard has fallen."

I didn't know why, but all the guilt of the past things I said to them, the harsh, mean things I said to anyone that day all came crashing back. I wasn't a mean person, I didn't need to say mean things. The lies I had just fed them were weighing me down. I wasn't that kind of person. I didn't need to be that kind of person.

"Lana," Stefan began, taking a step towards me, "would you be my date for the homecoming dance?" These words reminded me of two things: Homecoming was today and I needed a dress. What I didn't think about was how Elena would feel by me going with Stefan. Hell, even Damon. So my answer was a straight yes.

After a few seconds, I realized what I had said. "I mean, if Elena's okay with it," I added quickly. Elena faked a smile and nodded. I turned to Damon. He didn't say anything; he just avoided my gaze. Stefan smiled.

"Alright then. I'll see you at the dance, _Date._"

* * *

When Stefan showed up at my door in a suit with a single white rose, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. He looked like a real high school student and not a 165 year old man. He even looked like the kind of guy who had his emotions on. He looked from my head to my toes, not missing a single inch of me. When he finished eye-raping me, he said, "Looking good, Rivers."

"Not so bad yourself, Mr. Salvatore," I replied. "I'm gone, Nikki!" I made sure that Aunt Nikki would be busy with the camera so we didn't have to take pictures. I followed Stefan to his little bug of a car and got in. As we drove, I asked, "White the white rose?"

"It's the symbol of promise," he told me. "I promise to not fuck you over."

"Why? You have no emotions, unless you turned them on…?"

"I have a connection to you," he stated simply, "and I want to know why. You're the only one I trust since you feel the same way. We'll figure it out together."

I hesitated. "Since that's the case, maybe I should tell you what I found out…" Stefan looked over to me suspiciously.

"What did you find?"

"Okay, well, when I woke up years ago, all I could remember was my name and another name: Silas. When I first saw you, the name Silas came back into my head. So I just assumed that it would be connected somehow. So I did some research and it turns out that Silas is an Immortal being that had some major drama issues in his life in Greece."

"Wait, the first Immortal? What about the Original family?" Stefan asked.

"I thought the same thing. Maybe the Originals ain't so original, but then I looked further. You can't be a witch _and _a vampire. And the Original witch reused a spell, twisting it a little bit to her perfection. She created vampires, but Silas and this witch Qetsiyah created the first Immortals. So Silas and his girlfriend Amara drank the Immortal elixir that he created with Qetsiyah and her apprentice. Qetsiyah wasn't so happy, so she faked Amara's death and imprisoned Silas," I explained.

"What happened to Amara?"

"Don't know," I admitted. "It never said anything else about Amara or Qetsiyah's apprentice."

Stefan was silent for a second. "Maybe you're Amara?"

"Maybe…"

"Or what if the apprentice wanted something out of the deal too?" he suggested and I nodded. "She could have saved some of the Immortal elixir for herself."

"That's what I was thinking. Either I'm Amara or the apprentice."

"And what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, Silas had children. If I'm either Amara or the apprentice, I have some connection with Silas, so maybe I can spot his family," I offered. "I don't know, but all I know is that we're connected somehow. But I think we should keep this information to ourselves."

Stefan nodded. "To ourselves."

We pulled up to the Lockwood mansion, not the school. "What happened to homecoming?"

"Still homecoming, just not at school," Stefan said. "The gym flooded and Tyler decided to throw it at his house."

"Is there booze?"

"I'm guessing."

"Let's go get some booze, kill an Original and find out what the hell is wrong with us." Stefan and I wove our way through the crowd to get some beer, which still wasn't good enough and ended up on the dance floor.

"Fuck this," I yelled over the music. "I'm going to find real alcohol. I'll bring you back some if you want?" Stefan nodded. I left to go get beer and I was caught up in the music. I danced with a few people, listened to the music, forgot everything, but I didn't get drunk. I didn't see Stefan or Damon or anyone for a while and I realized that the plan was still going on. We still needed to kill Klaus.

As I tried to move through the crowd outside, I realized that something was going on. There were way too many people outside. There should have been some people inside the house, but there weren't any. So when I finally made it back to the house, I found Klaus and Stefan with each other, Stefan looking surprised and I saw a body outside burning. I assumed since Klaus still standing and there was a body burning, the plan failed.

"What happened? Why isn't he dead?" I demanded of Stefan.

"I made sure Damon didn't kill Klaus," Stefan answered. I stared at him. I thought Stefan especially wanted Klaus dead. "Klaus promised me my freedom if I saved him."

"Fucking vampires!" I exclaimed. Klaus was surprised at my anger. "Yes, Klaus. I want you dead. Not only because you've fucked up everyone's life, but because you killed my best friend who was innocent and you're a dick. You just aren't satisfied when you are a hybrid, you gotta have more of you. You forced yourself upon them. It doesn't matter how many hybrids there are because you're still alone! You will always be alone!"

Klaus was in front of me in an instant, shaking with anger. Stefan threw Klaus back against a wall, but Klaus did the same thing to Stefan, this time across the room. "Is that how you feel, Lana? You said that I didn't deserve that! You said that I wouldn't be alone!"

"That was before I knew you killed your own mother!" I yelled loudly. Klaus stopped. "Yeah, I know. Elena lost both of her mothers and you just willingly killed yours? There are a billion people who would love a mother, but you don't even care."

"She rejected me," Klaus replied in a small voice. "They both did."

"What about your siblings, huh?" I questioned. I started poking his chest as I said, "You're just so selfish. It's all about _you, _isn't it? She rejected _you, _not her other children. She was disappointed with _you, _not her other children. So I guess it's _your _decision to kill her even though she's a mother to four other children."

Klaus yelled back, "I was alone! She's the one who cheated on my father, made him hate me, and then left me lonely again! I was a freak to my siblings! I wasn't normal! I was a hybrid! Instead of letting me stay like that, she imprisoned my werewolf side! The side _she _created with another man!"

Klaus was crying by this point. And my heart just crumbled. I put my hand on his face and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the shit you had to go through as a child, but you fucked up. You killed people, my best friend, ruined Elena's life. You aren't any better than Mikael."

I left Klaus to himself to help Stefan up. Stefan took my hand and we were out of there in a second. Stefan took me to Elena, standing by a car far away from the house. "Elena, I'm sorry. Stefan here is the one who fucked it up."

"I know," Elena said, not sounding like herself. "Hint: I'm not Elena."

I thought for a second, it didn't make any sense. Why wasn't she— "Katherine… No, I'm not getting caught up in this. Stefan, give me the keys, I'm going home. Call me when you're done talking to her."

Stefan shrugged. "Don't get a scratch on her," he warned before handing me the keys.

"Yeah, sure."

As I walked off, I heard Katherine call to me, "Nice meeting you."

I threw a finger in the air and yelled back, "Yeah, you too."


End file.
